The president of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa has said that his dream is to resolve the country’s land ownership issue “once and for all”.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa said he would hold talks on the the issue of land expropriation with the aim of avoiding panic among citizens.
“I will shortly initiate a dialogue with key stakeholders … There is no need for any one of us to panic and start beating war drums,” Ramaphosa told the National Council of Provinces.
South Africa’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a motion seeking to amend the country’s Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.
The motion was brought by the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema and received 241 in support, and 83 against.
The motion was however voted against by the opposition DA, Freedom Front Plus, Cope and the ACDP.
The country’s Constitutional Review Committee will now take up the process and report back to Parliament by August 30.
A 2017 land audit report by the department of land reform states 72% of farm land is owned by white owners, followed by coloureds (people of mixed race) at 15%, Indians at 5% and blacks at 4%.
In last week’s State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa said while he supports land to be taken without pay, he would not agree to a “smash and grab” policy.
Source: Africafeeds.com
