Still much of the property in South Africa is owned by white people. Now the Parliament is clearing the way for expropriation of farmers. "The time for compensation is over," said the initiators.
The South African Parliament has called for the expropriation of farmers without compensation. The application was submitted by the left-wing party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and supported by the ruling party ANC. It could lead to a change in the constitution.
The topic of land expropriation has been one of the most sensitive issues since the end of apartheid in South Africa. The new President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his first major speech after taking over office in mid-February, supports the expropriation of farmers without compensation - as long as it increases food production.
A large part of the agricultural area in South Africa still belongs to the whites even 24 years after the end of apartheid. According to a recent study, 73 percent of the agricultural land is still in white hands. In 1994, it has been 85 percent.
"The time for compensation is over, now it's time for justice," said EFF Chairman Julius Malema to the Parliament. "It's about our dignity, we do not want revenge." Malema once was the chief of the ANC youth branch.
Parliament mandated the Constitutional Commission to report on the issue at the end of August. The ruling party ANC is under pressure before the parliamentary elections next year, and land seizures could increase support in the poor black electorate.
In neighboring Zimbabwe, after the unstructured and often violent expropriation of farmers, many farms had fallen into decay. The sharp decline in agricultural production plunged the country, formerly known as the breadbasket of southern Africa, into a severe economic crisis for many years.
Source: AFP
Powered by Insteem, the News on Steem