Land reform is still a highly contentious topic in the Western Cape more than 20 years into democracy.
This was evident of Monday when residents made presentations to a panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and Acceleration of Fundamental Change headed by former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.
The panel was appointed by the Speakers’ Forum – a body comprising of the speakers of Parliament and nine provincial legislatures – to assess the impact of key legislation passed since the 1994 democratic elections.
Its focus will be on the triple challenges of “poverty‚ unemployment and inequality“‚ the creation and equitable distribution of wealth‚ land reform and nation building.
During the presentations‚ a number of speakers‚ which included traditional leaders and members of civil society‚ criticised the slow pace of land reform and laws related to the issue.
Khoi chief‚ Melvin Arendse‚ said that government had dragged its feet and called on chiefs across the province to unite and demand land.
“Today we are treated like exiles and foreigners when it comes to land‚” said Arendse.
He charged that the Western Cape had the highest number of informal settlements and warned that “we cannot have generations in shacks“.
Russel Johnson‚ a community development worker from the Cape Winelands‚ called for security of tenure for the children of farm workers in the province.
“Farm workers stay on a farm for over 20 years and then the father dies ... the farmer kicks the wife and children out‚” said Johnson.
He said because courts were far away from farms‚ workers were illegally evicted and did not have an opportunity to oppose the evictions.
William Mtungwa‚ a resident of Cross Roads on the Cape Flats‚ said despite being one of the oldest townships in the province a number of elderly people still lived in shacks. Yet‚ said Mtungwa‚ there was available land in the area owned by a person from Constantia.
Mtungwa said that development was only happening in areas such as Gugulethu and Khayelitsha. As a result Cross Roads residents felt neglected.
Earlier‚ Cosatu’s Matthew Parks‚ told the gathering that they wanted farm evictions to end. In addition‚ Parks said they also wanted fishing rights to be awarded to small fishing communities in the province.
He also slammed municipalities‚ saying the Extended Public Works Programme had “become a source of cheap labour for cash-strapped municipalities.”
Motlanthe’s panel started its work earlier this year with a visit to the Eastern Cape.
Motlanthe hears pleas for land reform in Western Cape
This was evident of Monday when residents made presentations to a panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and Acceleration of Fundamental Change headed by former deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.
The panel was appointed by the Speakers’ Forum – a body comprising of the speakers of Parliament and nine provincial legislatures – to assess the impact of key legislation passed since the 1994 democratic elections.
Its focus will be on the triple challenges of “poverty‚ unemployment and inequality“‚ the creation and equitable distribution of wealth‚ land reform and nation building.
During the presentations‚ a number of speakers‚ which included traditional leaders and members of civil society‚ criticised the slow pace of land reform and laws related to the issue.
Khoi chief‚ Melvin Arendse‚ said that government had dragged its feet and called on chiefs across the province to unite and demand land.
“Today we are treated like exiles and foreigners when it comes to land‚” said Arendse.
He charged that the Western Cape had the highest number of informal settlements and warned that “we cannot have generations in shacks“.
Russel Johnson‚ a community development worker from the Cape Winelands‚ called for security of tenure for the children of farm workers in the province.
“Farm workers stay on a farm for over 20 years and then the father dies ... the farmer kicks the wife and children out‚” said Johnson.
He said because courts were far away from farms‚ workers were illegally evicted and did not have an opportunity to oppose the evictions.
William Mtungwa‚ a resident of Cross Roads on the Cape Flats‚ said despite being one of the oldest townships in the province a number of elderly people still lived in shacks. Yet‚ said Mtungwa‚ there was available land in the area owned by a person from Constantia.
Mtungwa said that development was only happening in areas such as Gugulethu and Khayelitsha. As a result Cross Roads residents felt neglected.
Earlier‚ Cosatu’s Matthew Parks‚ told the gathering that they wanted farm evictions to end. In addition‚ Parks said they also wanted fishing rights to be awarded to small fishing communities in the province.
He also slammed municipalities‚ saying the Extended Public Works Programme had “become a source of cheap labour for cash-strapped municipalities.”
Motlanthe’s panel started its work earlier this year with a visit to the Eastern Cape.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos