THE Land is Ours seminar, hosted during the Articulate Africa Book and Art Fair, lived up to expectations. The debate was based on Advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitobi’s book, The Land is Ours, which tells a story of three black lawyers who, during the era of aggressive colonial expansion and land dispossession, were forced labourers.
The lawyers believed in a constitutional system that respected individual rights and freedoms so they used the law as an instrument against the injustices of colonialism.
The debate intensified as the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) member Senzo Mchunu, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) provincial chairperson, Vusi Khoza, president of Black First Land First (BLF) Thabani Zikalala, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu and young farmer Ayanda Zulu, debated the land question. First at the podium was Mchunu, who said the land issue was not so much about political parties but rather a struggle for the people of South Africa.
“Section 25 needs to be amended for clarity so that the Constitution is explicitly clear on this matter. Our view as the ANC is that this is not much about political parties, the struggle is for the people of South Africa and we have reached a consensus, we need to finalise this matter and shift the policies of the past. The notion that the people think we are politicking is very unfortunate. We are basing our broad ideology, in terms of ensuring that justice and ownership is achieved by all. We are also advocating for a total new dispensation to assist emerging farmers,” said Mchunu.
ALSO READ: Xenophobic attacks a political hot potato
However, the EFF’s Vusi Khoza said without his party such debates would never have taken place. “The question we need to ask ourselves is why it is that we began to talk about the land issue, and what changed, because we should have concluded the issue a long time ago. Three years ago we started a process of taking land without compensation, and rest assured that under the EFF government, all the land will be under the custodian of the state for equal distribution, and everybody will benefit.”
Meanwhile, Ayanda Zulu, who is a young black female farmer, said the real discussion should be about how to give the youth experience. “The time to pretend is now over. The land issue is about belonging. It is critical because it’s an asset. This is where relatable curriculum plays an essential role,” she said.
Thabani Zikalala of BLF said: “When people talk about the land they immediately think of the economics. Besides it being the object of economic growth or impact, it is also an object of our lives and spirituality. Today it’s even difficult to bury our loved ones because we have supposedly run out of land. People who don’t own land have no political power. You cannot have a say on what has to be built in the areas. You cannot decide to build houses on the land which you do not own.”
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
