Zikalala’s Howick land play shows up ANC’s failed land reform

13 March 2017

Utterances by KwaZulu-Natal ANC Chairperson Sihle Zikalala over the weekend that “Howick upwards areas” of land should be “returned to the people as part of the radical land transformation”, highlight how ANC land reform has failed to date.

If the ANC‘s land reform had worked, Zikalala wouldn’t be running around pointing out pieces of private land for redistribution. The DA condemns this adhockery from Sihle Zikalala, and reminds Zikalala that land reform must take place in terms of the constitution and the law.

A legal and transparent land reform process must prevail, and the ANC must do that in terms of the constitution, which provides for land reform that will be fair.

The fact which Zikalala does not want to admit is that the ANC has failed dismally at land reform to date, and now the ANC is resorting to desperate tactics of making false promises of land in Howick.

The real reason for the slow pace of land reform is that instead of rolling out programmes that benefit the majority of South Africans, as Section 25 of the Constitution prescribes, under the ANC government land reform is used to give corrupt deals to political cronies, which lock–out the majority of South Africans from access to land.

The DA supports lawful and constitutional land reform, to redress the gross imbalances of the past. A DA government would make land reform an apex priority, rather than an unresolved problem that is used by ANC politicians to whip up emotions and divide our country.

Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, DA KZN Leader, 13 March 2017