The original motion:
Draft resolution (Mr JS Malema): That the House —
notes that South Africa has a unique history of brutal dispossession of land from black people by the settler colonial white minority;
further notes that land dispossession left an indelible mark on the social, political and economic landscape of the country, and has helped design a society based on exploitation of black people and sustenance of white domination;
acknowledges that the African majority was only confined to 13% of the land in South Africa while whites owned 87% at the end of the apartheid regime in 1994;
further acknowledges that the current land reform programme has been fraught with difficulties since its inception in 1994, and that the pace of land reform has been slow with only 8% of the land transferred back to black people since 1994, and that the recent land audit claims that black people own less than 2% of rural land, and less than 7% of urban land;
recognises that at the centre of the present crisis regarding the resolution of the land question is section 25 of the Constitution, the “property clause”, which protects private property rights, and requires of the State to pay compensation when expropriating land in the public interest and for a public purpose further recognises that this property clause makes it practically impossible for those dispossessed of their land to get justice for injustices perpetrated against them;
acknowledges that in his State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa made a commitment that government will embark on a radical land reform programme that entails expropriation of land without compensation;
further acknowledges that any amendment to the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation must go through a parliamentary process as parliament is the only institution that can amend the constitution.
establishes an ad hoc committee, in terms of Rule 253 (l)(a), the committee to:
– Review and amend section 25 of the Constitution to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation;
– Conduct public hearings to get the views of ordinary South Africans, policy makers, civil society organisations and academics, about the necessity of, and mechanisms for expropriating land without compensation;
– Propose the necessary constitutional amendments with regards to the kind of future land tenure regime needed, and to the necessity of the State being a custodian of all South African land,
– consist of 11 members, as follows: ANC 6, DA 2, EFF 1, and other parties 2;
– exercise those powers in Rule 167 that may assist it in carrying out its task; and
– Report back to the National Assembly by no later than 11 May 2018.
The amendment moved by ANC and agreed to by the EFF:
Amendments to be moved by the ANC to the motion by Mr J S Malema
1. That paragraph 6 of the motion be amended as follows:
“Recognises that the current policy instruments, including the willing buyer willing seller policy, and other provisions of section 25 of the Constitution may be hindering effective land reform.”
2. Delete paragraph 7 of the motion as printed on the Order Paper.
3. Substitute paragraph 8 of the motion with the following:
“notes that in his State of the Nation Address , President Cyril Ramaphosa, in recognizing the original sin of land dispossession, made a commitment that Government would continue the land reform programme that entails expropriation of land without compensation, making use of all mechanisms at the disposal of the State, implemented in a manner that increases agricultural production, improves food security and ensures that the land is returned to those from whom it was taken under colonialism and apartheid and undertake a process of consultation to determine the modalities of the governing party resolution.”
4. Amend paragraph 10 as follows:
“with the concurrence of the NCOP instructs the Constitutional Review Committee to
a. review section 25 of the Constitution and other clauses where necessary
b. after the word “amendments” to insert “where applicable” and delete all the words after “needed”.
c. delete sub-paragraphs (c) and (d)
d. amend the date for reporting to the Assembly to “30 August 2018″.”
