Ramaphosa places ANC above South Africa with land issue

1 August 2018

The announcement made late last night by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the ANC will proceed to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to make provision for expropriation without compensation is further proof that he has been captured by the Zuma faction within the ANC and that he is placing the interests of the ANC above the best interests of South Africa.

Although the announcement comes as no surprise to the FF Plus, the timing of the announcement makes a mockery of the public hearings on the matter as well as the parliamentary processes of the Constitutional Review Committee that is tasked with compiling a report on the possible amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution.

With this announcement, President Ramaphosa and the ANC in effect conveyed that they will indeed amend the Constitution, irrespective of what the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee may be.

The president of a country is expected to rise above party politics and to act in the best interests of a country. This intended amendment will deter potential investors, which will damage the economy and that will, in turn, lead to even greater unemployment in South Africa.

Being a businessman, President Ramaphosa should know that it will be detrimental to the economy.

Former minister Trevor Manuel affirmed this by saying that South Africa will struggle to attract investors if expropriation without compensation becomes a reality. Food security will no doubt also be jeopardised.

Once the principle of expropriation without compensation has been taken up in the Constitution, it has the potential to bring about anarchy and land grabs, similar to what happened in Zimbabwe, because certain political parties have created the expectation among the masses that everyone will be able to own land and thus become wealthy. It will be immensely difficult to control such a volatile situation.

The FF Plus will now lodge an official complaint with the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations (UN) regarding this violation of Article 17 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects private ownership of property and prohibits expropriation without compensation.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 1 August 2018