MKMVA welcomes the decision of the ANC NEC Lekgotla to amend Section 25 of the SA Constitution in order to remove all impediments that stand in the way of the expropriation of land without compensation  

1 August 2018,

Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) warmly welcomes the decision by the ANC NEC Lekgotla that the ANC will, through the parliamentary process, finalise a proposed amendment to the Constitution, that will remove any restrictions regarding the expropriation of land without compensation.

The African National Congress (ANC) should be applauded for having heeded the call of our people from all walks of life that land expropriation without compensation is a non-negotiable, and that it must be implemented as a matter of urgency in line with the Resolution on Land and Agricultural Reform, that was adopted by the 54th National Conference of the African National Congress.

Our people spoke clearly, and with conviction, at the ongoing Parliamentary public hearings on land expropriation, and there can be no doubt that they overwhelmingly want any restrictions in the Constitution that impedes the expropriation of land without compensation to be removed, and that the ANC as the leader of society must unambiguously take the lead in achieving this critical objective.

MMKVA congratulates and supports the ANC for listening to the voices of our long suffering people, who are no longer prepared to wait to regain their rightful ownership of the land that was stolen from them by white colonialists. That injustice can not any longer be allowed to be perpetuated.

At our 5th National Conferation in June 2017, MKMVA adopted a comprehensive Resolution on Radical Economic Transformation (RET), part of that Resolution included our call for the removal of all the limitation clauses in Section 25 of the Constitution that impedes, or limits in any way whatsoever, the expropriation of land without compensation.

Since then we have worked tirelessly within the ANC, and in the broader progressive community, for the achievement of that goal. We are very happy that with this progressive watershed decision of the ANC NEC Lekgotla, and the announcement that was made last night by comrade President Cyril Ramaphosa, as well as the formal media statement of the NEC Lekgotla that was issued today by comrade Ace Magashule, the Secretary General of the ANC, we are now moving in unison and with determination towards the achievement of that critical goal.

MKMVA will continue to monitor this process, and contribute our revolutionary commitment to ensure that all impediments to the full implementation of the Land and Agricultural Reform Resolution will indeed be removed, and that it will be fully implemented.

Issued by Carl Niehaus, MKMVA National Executive Committee member and National Spokesperson, 1 August 2018