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September 2018
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Relevant
Melanie Verwoerd
is a former ANC MP,
South African Ambassador to Ireland and a columnist for
News24
Political
analysis
land expropriation:
Four myths that must be bust
L
and has become the number one political issue in South
Africa. Having been on panels and radio shows over the last
few months about this issue, it never ceases to amaze me
how much misunderstanding and pure scaremongering exist
around it.
It is perhaps understandable since most of the column inches
and airtime in the media are devoted to quotes from the EFF or Afri-
Forum – two extreme poles on opposite sides of the land spectrum.
Both sides produce sensational and populist sound bytes, but in
reality, neither represents the majority of people in this country
and therefore will not decide how this issue plays out in the foresee-
able future.
Ultimately it will be the majority party that will decide what will
happen around the expropriation and redistribution of land.
It is therefore important to carefully note what the ANC has
been saying, both publicly and in their internal documents, about
this issue. A careful analysis shows a measured, or in the words of
Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, ‘a sensible and sensitive approach to the
issue’. There is not even the slightest whiff of land grabs, large
scale removal of farmers off their land or the diminishing of prop-
erty rights in general. Yet, despite repeated reassurances from the
president and other senior ANC members, large scale fear bordering
on panic continues to grow amongst ordinary citizens.
I'm not alone in being extremely concerned about the impact of
this discussion or debate on the social cohesion of our nation. So,
let me try and bust some of the most common myths/miscon
ceptions that exist in the public narrative in an attempt to let
truth rather than scary fiction inform peoples’ thinking.
Myth 1: The ANC is blaming it all
on apartheid
Even though it is true that many of the vast inequalities of owner-
ship of property and land that we have today, date back to apartheid
and colonial times, the ANC in their documents acknowledge that
not enough has been done to rectify the situation since 1994. They
take responsibility for that. However, they also know that the status
quo can't continue. Lindiwe Sisulu once more: ‘As the ANC we real-
ise that we are running out of our own time.’
Myth 2: The ANC wants to amend
the Constitution
Contrary to what AfriForum and some ignorant journalists would
like us to believe, the ANC has not said that it will definitely amend
the Constitution. In their documents and statements, it is clear that
they actually believe that Section 25 of the Constitution has always
allowed expropriation without compensation and that an amend-
ment therefore might not be necessary.
The motion that was passed in Parliament also did not say that
they will amend the Constitution, but rather that the constitutional
review committee in Parliament must investigate whether an amend-
ment is necessary.
Myth 3: It's all about taking
white farmers' land
Again, largely due to the populist narrative of some, we are made
to believe that the expropriation issue is focussed (as in Zimbabwe)
on farm land. Although agricultural land is of course important, the
ANC documents make it clear that their focus is far more on urban
and peri-urban land. Given the high rate of urbanisation, the abil-
ity to give people title deeds and thus ownership of land in the ur-
ban areas is actually the main, albeit not the exclusive, focus. Hence
the announcements during May about transferring land and title
deeds to people in urban areas like Gauteng.
Myth 4: The ANC wants all land
to be in state hands
There is a very important difference between the EFF and ANC on
this matter. The EFF has indicated that they would like all land to be
in the hands of the state. The ANC has said that they want to handle
the expropriation on a case-by-case basis, by applying certain
agreed and legislated criteria (which will of course be tested in the
courts). So, it will not just be a large scale, random dispossession of
land or property.
Yes, it is clear that the governing party wants and needs to speed
up land reform and that expropriation without compensation is
one of a number of mechanisms they will use. However, everything
points to a determination to do so through carefully considered
legislative mechanisms, such as amending the Expropriation Bill to