If government wants ‘white people’ land, they must pay for it – Mosiuoa Lekota

Congress of the People (Cope) leader Mosiuoa Lekota has reiterated that if government wants to take land, they must pay for it, as white landowners in South Africa “bought” it.

The Cope leader believes the values enshrined in the Constitution are there for a reason, and adds that South Africa belongs to all who live it.

According to a TimesLive report, Lekota rejects the view that white people received land for free from the apartheid government and should therefore not be compensated.

He added it was a myth that white families were given land for free, adding that everyone had to buy the property they had.

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He was speaking on the current land debate. Hearings on land expropriation without compensation kicked off on June 26 in Springbok in the Northern Cape.

The hearings are part of the joint parliamentary Constitutional Review Committee’s possible review of section 25 of the constitution.

Lekota is adamant that black people need to rid themselves of the view that all white people own land.

He has acknowledged that land was forcibly taken from black people in South Africa through the 1913 Land Act, but says cases such as these need to be dealt with constitutionally.

Lekota calls for a sensible approach towards South Africa’s land issue.

The Cope leader has also defended King Goodwill Zwelithini’s Ingonyama Trust, which allows him to own a significant amount of rural land in KwaZulu-Natal, and says the government cannot take land away from the Zulu king, but should instead let him pass it on to individuals in his nation.

This follows Zwelithini and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s meeting following the proposed move to repeal the Ingonyama Trust Act.