Categories: South Africa

Whites-only party says ‘we dodged a bullet this week’

White advocacy party Front National expressed concerns in a statement on Facebook on Thursday about President Jacob Zuma’s support for land expropriation without compensation.

Zuma reiterated his support for changing the constitution to allow for more rapid land reform on Friday while addressing traditional leaders.

In Afrikaans, the party commented that “the remark by [Land Reform] Minister Gugile Nkwinti that the constitution should be changed to allow the expropriation of land without compensation was followed by a clear indication from Jacob Zuma’s side that he supports the plan”.

The party said it wouldn’t be impossible for the ANC to get a two-thirds majority to change the constitution, since the EFF had already offered the ruling party their 6% share of the vote to get the majority required.

“The ANC, though, turned this down, meaning that we were able to dodge this bullet. But it’s a matter of having just bought a little time. Because, without question, the EFF’s opposition has found resonance in the black community.

“[EFF deputy president] Floyd Shivambu accused the ANC of saying one thing and doing another. And from an objective perspective, he is not wrong. Through this, the gulf between the extremist groupings and the more pragmatic groupings in the ANC is widening … and more supporters are heading for the EFF.

“It must explode sometime. The land issue is now gathering momentum and, with Malema’s threat to begin with land occupations on April 6, we are sitting on a ticking time bomb.”

The party said they would be discussing “April 6” at their national congress on 25 March in Klein Drakenstein.

Front National is a political party formed in late 2013 that contested the 2014 national elections. It promotes secession and Afrikaner self-determination. It says it strikes no distinction between English-speaking whites and Afrikaners.

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