While the country voted and the ANC fought amongst themselves, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s plans for land expropriation without compensation were put on hold.

Once the ANC had secured victory in the elections, Ramaphosa was back to work again.

At a conference hosted by the Goldman Sachs Group in May, the president discussed Eskom, the economy, and land reform.

He reiterated, once again, that land reform would happen in an orderly manner with no land grabs.

Fast forward two months, and amending the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation is back on track, reports The Daily Maverick.

In its last sitting before a three-week recess on Thursday 25 July, the National Assembly revived the pre-election ad hoc committee to amend Section 25 of the Constitution, dubbed the property clause. Parliamentary rules require such a motion so the current crop of MPs can continue where the last Parliament left off as it rose in late March ahead of the May poll.

That initial constitutional amendment committee was briefed by experts…but its work was nowhere completed amid heady electioneering ahead of the May poll.

The first constitutional amendment ad hoc committee chairperson, Thoko Didiza, is now minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development.

On Sunday she’s set to brief on government land plans and the report of the Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture that reached Cabinet after it was handed to President Cyril Ramaphosa in early June, some nine months after the panel was established.

An 11-strong multi-party voting ad hoc committee is expected to resume the constitutional amendment process once MPs return from recess on 20 August.

The work, to be completed by 31 March 2020, must “make explicit that which is implicit in the Constitution, with regards to expropriation of land without compensation, as a legitimate option for land reform, so as to address the historical wrongs caused by the arbitrary dispossession of land, and in so doing ensure equitable access to land and further empower the majority of South Africans to be productive participants in ownership, food security and agricultural reform programs…”.

Right, that all sounds above board. A multi-party voting committee sounds very democratic…

The motion tabled by ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina in isiXhosa was followed by declarations in the House that effectively (re)drew the battle lines of the constitutional review and constitutional amendment ad hoc committees.

With the DA, IFP and ACDP among those against the motion, the EFF and ANC, while having different approaches, united with the support of the PAC in favour. The ANC benches erupted in song during the five minutes the bells were rung ahead of the vote. The EFF joined in.

There it is. This was never going to be easy.

The divisions on expropriation without compensation are deep, ideologically, politically and practically. The DA, IFP, Freedom Front Plus and ACDP are opposed, pushing rather for better financial allocations for land reform and restitution, title deeds and security.

And while the EFF and ANC seem to be on the same side in the compensationless expropriation fault-lines – both their numbers are needed to hit the two-thirds majority threshold in the House – there are significant and deep-seated differences.

One of the fundamental differences between the EFF and the ANC is that the EFF want nationalisation of all land, whereas the ANC sees compensationless land expropriation as the first step towards land reform.

It looks like this is going to be a long and difficult road going forward.

Whether the proposal committee meets its deadline of March 31, 2020, remains to be seen.

[source:dailymaverick]