I clipped this from the Daily Mail.UK I have learned a long time ago, when you wanted to look for info, check out the foreign media, especially during the Obama administration because they didn't perform fellatio on Obama like the American media did.
White South Africans could be forced to
give up their own homes from next year as the nation's government
steamrolls through plans for land expropriation over claims 'Africa's
original sin' must be reversed.
Land is a huge issue in South Africa
where racial inequality remains entrenched more than two decades after
the end of apartheid when millions of the black majority were
dispossessed of their land by a white minority.
The
National Assembly agreed to the establishment of a committee that will
draft an amendment to section 25 of the Constitution – a law which will
allow the government to take homes from the people – and refuse to pay
them compensation.
As many in the
nation see the move as retribution for the 'original sin' when decades
ago black people were driven off their land, it is believed white
farmers will be driven from their homes immediately.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's suggested (above) expropriation laws are feared by farmers
Cyril Ramaphosa has made land redistribution from white farmers to black disadvantaged citizens a flagship policy
Governing
party The African National Congress (ANC) wants to amend the law so the
government can take back land and distribute it.
However, critics say it is likely it will be handed off to their friends rather than dished out to those in need.
Last
week the nations politicians fast tracked the set up of a committee
which will write the legal change and present it next year.
The
motion was adopted with 183 MPs voting yes, 77 voting no and no
abstentions in fiery scenes as South Africans battle over land reform.
In the same week, South Africa's
High Court rejected a legal challenge brought by a group representing
white farmers against President Cyril Ramaphosa's plans for land
expropriation without compensation.
Currently
section 25 of the Constitution 'just and equitable' payment which
reflects 'an equitable balance between the public interest and the
interests of those affected' must be offered for land – but changes
would abolish the need to compensate.
Economic
Freedom Fighters politician Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi said those arguing
against legalising land grabs are 'beneficiaries of racism'.
'Your time is up, white people,' She added.
The EFF will later put forward an amendment stating all land in private hands must be appropriated.
Democratic Alliance chief whip John Steenhuisen said the amendment is being pushed through without proper procedure.
'What
it (the passing of the motion) also says, very clearly, to the people
of South Africa is that regardless of their submissions, this bill is a
fait accompli (already decided),' Steenhuisen said.
'This is madness. The message it sends to the people of South Africa is 'we don't care what you say'.'
MP
Sibusiso Mncwabe supported the adoption of the motion: 'Let's continue
giving this Christmas gift (expropriation without compensation) to our
people.'
Democratic Alliance Chief Whip John Steenhuisen has said process is not being followed
Farmers could be kicked off of their own land by the government who will redistribute it
The
Joint Constitutional Review Committee's report recommended that section
25 of the Constitution be amended 'so as to address the historic wrongs
caused by the arbitrary dispossession of land'.
The
report also recommended that the Constitutional Amendment Bill be
tabled, processed and passed before the end of the Fifth Parliament,
which will rise before next year's election, presumably in March or
April.
However, experts said it is not likely to happen if proper processes are followed.
The motion gives the committee a deadline of March 31, 2019, to complete its work.
ANC
chief whip Jackson Mthembu says the nationalisation of land presents a
risk that could see those in power giving land away to their friends and
cronies.
In some places the wheels are already in motion.
A
city outside Johannesburg is preparing what the mayor calls a 'test
case' over plans to take hundreds of acres of land from private owners,
without paying for it in order to build low-cost housing.
Last month, Ekurhuleni's city council
voted in favour of forging ahead with 'expropriation without
compensation' - a legal tool that the ruling African National Congress
says is necessary to provide land for disadvantaged black citizens.
Ramaphosa
handed over the title deeds of 4,586 hectares of land to Chief Inkosi
Mandla Mkwanazi of the KwaMkwanazi community in Empangeni, near Durban.
The
KwaMkwanazi community was forcibly removed from their land more than
100 years ago following the enactment of the 1913 Land Act.
Like
other South African cities, Ekurhuleni faces a dire housing crunch,
with some 600,000 of its nearly 4 million people living in 'informal
settlements' and a shortage of land to build homes.
Executive
mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, who heads the local ANC-led
coalition, echoed the president, saying landowners in South Africa don't
need to be 'scared'.
He added: 'Our
policy is not to take the land by force. Our policy is to make sure the
land is shared amongst those that need it.'
Ekurhuleni
plans to expropriate about 865 acres (350 hectares) of land in the city
limits, both private and government-owned, that has been vacant for
decades and develop it to relieve pressure in vast tracts of ramshackle
dwellings. The mayor did not identify the landowners.
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