The ANC in parliament has indicated that the proposed amendments to the Constitution to facilitate land expropriation without compensation were very much on the cards, despite the party leading the government of national unity (GNU).
Despite the ANC’s involvement in a GNU with parties such as the DA and the FF Plus, historically opposed to such changes, Mdumiseni Ntuli, the ANC chief whip, said he expected proposals soon.
Ntuli said this week that the ANC remained committed to its transformation agenda even within the coalition. He said that the ANC would not abandon its positions due to being part of the GNU, acknowledging that other parties may attempt to influence the agenda.
“I do not share the view that the ANC will walk away from some of its progressive transformation perspectives merely because of the GNU. What I know for a fact is that there will be attempts by other parties constituting the GNU to set the national agenda,” Ntuli explained in an interview with Sunday World.
As the chief whip of the majority party in the National Assembly, he stated that it was his duty to ensure that the ANC truly acted and conducted itself as a genuine representative of the people who continue to support it despite turbulent times.
“The ANC was elected on the basis of an election manifesto, and it is incumbent upon us who are privileged to be public representatives to ensure that the
confidence of our people is not betrayed.”
He asserted that this manifesto essentially constitutes a contract between the ANC and the people, requiring us to implement it.
The emotionally charged subject of effecting necessary changes to the constitution fell flat in 2021. The ANC had introduced the Land Expropriation Bill in Parliament, seeking support from at least 75% of parliamentarians.
However, the staunch opposition from the FF Plus and the DA, among other parties, prevented the proposed amendments to Section 25 of the constitution from becoming a reality.
The ANC had also banked on the support of the EFF, but the Julius Malema-led party shot down the proposal despite his party having introduced the bill way back in 2018. At the time, Malema clarified that the ANC bill aimed to tamper with the EFF’s radical stance on land transfer to the black majority.
“The bill that this house is asked to approve today will take black people’s struggle for land repossession many steps back. The practical implications of this bill would be far worse than the current property clause of the Constitution.
“It will signify a sell-out position and further disenfranchisement of black people,” Malema argued in parliament then.
A 75% majority in the National Assembly, or 267 members out of 400 parliamentarians, is required to pass any bill that seeks to amend the constitution, according to Section 74.
Dr Mathole Motshekga, who was the chairperson of the ad hoc committee to initiate and introduce legislation amending Section 25, said the expropriation bill was the only mechanism that would return the land to its original people.
He further characterised land dispossession as the original sin that requires correction.
