ANC to go it alone after land fall out with EFF

The ANC’s aim to amend section 25 of the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation may have been torpedoed by the EFF over a disagreement on who would ultimately own any commandeered assets.

In what might result in a bill being presented to parliament without the necessary backing of either the DA or EFF, a meeting between the ANC and the red berets last week has ended in a stalemate, prompting the governing party to press ahead with its plans alone.

It needs the support from the EFF to rack up enough votes for a two-thirds majority, but that party is insisting that the state take custodianship of all land, which the ANC opposes on the grounds that this constitutes nationalisation and would prove chaotic for land ownership.

Justice minister Ronald Lamola, who has been leading the negotiations with the EFF, said in an interview with the Sunday Times the ANC would now go it alone and would seek to achieve its objective through the Expropriation Bill, which is also before parliament.

WE HAVE SAID ... THAT TARGETING SECTION 25 OF THE CONSTITUTION AS A SCAPEGOAT FOR SLOW LAND REFORM IS WRONG

The bill allows for the expropriation of certain categories of land without compensation with the courts being the final arbiter.

This includes vacant land, unused land, or land earmarked for reform or in the hands of state institutions, and land considered unsafe.

Lamola maintains that the resolution of the ANC conference in 2017 did not specifically instruct the national executive committee of the party to change the constitution to achieve its aim of expropriation of land without compensation.

Ad hoc committee chair Mathole Motshekga was quoted by the newspaper saying the stalemate between the ANC and EFF would not have an effect as a revised bill out for public comment had been drawn up after consideration of all parties’ views.

Annelie Lotriet, chair of the DA parliamentary caucus, said public consultation on the revised bill continued until August 13, at which point the committee would look at the comments and make a decision.

The ANC has six of 11 seats on the committee, which meant they are likely to pass it, she said, and it would then be sent to the National Assembly. Lotriet said she hoped the ANC would “stick to its guns”, but even its compromise of offering state-custodianship for “certain land” was problematic, as it was not clear who would determine what certain land is. “We have said from the start that targeting section 25 of the constitution as a scapegoat for slow land reform is wrong.”

The EFF did not respond immediately to requests for comment, but the party’s deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, said on social media that the parties had “built consensus” on the issue in the committee and the EFF would be responding to the Sunday Times interview in detail, describing it as “grossly misleading and dishonest”.

THE ANC WOULD NOW SEEK TO ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVE THROUGH THE EXPROPRIATION BILL, WHICH IS ALSO BEFORE PARLIAMENT