The Land Expropriation Bill was not passed in the national assembly on Tuesday after the ANC failed to get a two third majority vote on it. (Photo by Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu)
South Africa: Today’s latest news and headlines, Wednesday 8 December 2021
In the latest news in South Africa on Wednesday 8 December 2021, the Land Expropriation Bill was not passed into law.
The Land Expropriation Bill was not passed in the national assembly on Tuesday after the ANC failed to get a two third majority vote on it. (Photo by Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu)
Stay informed with the latest news stories and headlines in South Africa on Wednesday 8 December 2021.
The Land Expropriation Bill was not passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday after the ANC failed to get a two third majority vote on it. This comes after ANC’s Dr Mathole Motshekga opened the debate on the 18th Amendment Bill earlier on Tuesday with a “history lesson.”
He said the “original sin” was when indigenous African people were dispossessed of the land by the Dutch and British settlers. Suprisingly the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said the party rejected the Bill because it would set back African people’s struggle for land repossession.
Meanwhile, Civil rights organisation AfriForum has hailed the failure of the Land Expropriation Bill to pass into law before the National Assembly as a “major victory” for land owners saying the country’s ordinary citizens have avoided “catastrophic devastation”.
TODAY’S LATEST NEWS IN SOUTH AFRICA, Wednesday 8 December
BREAKING: Land Expropriation Bill fails to achieve two-thirds majority
Members of Parliament debated and voted on 18th Amendment Bill on Tuesday afternoon, 7 December. The Bill sought to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.
House Chairperson Cedrick Frolic said that for the 18th Amendment Bill to be passed it would require a supporting vote of 267 votes – a two-thirds majority.
“As the required majority was not obtained the Bill will not be read a second time,” said the Chairperson.
The ANC and Al-Jamah vote in favour of the Bill and the EFF, IFP, FF PLUS, ACDP, GOOD, NFP and COPE voted against it. The exact tally of votes per party was not audible because of technical difficulties, especially with virtual voting.
EFF stuns parliament by rejecting Land Expropriation Bill – but why?
Members of Parliament debated the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation on Tuesday, 7 December. Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said the party rejects the Bill because it will set back African people’s struggle for land repossession.
He said the “original sin” was when indigenous African people were dispossessed of the land by the Dutch and British settlers. In his lengthy speech, he cast aspersions at the parties that would not accept the Bill and said “unholy coalitions” – referring to the 2021 Local Government Elections, which saw the ANC lose power across the country – would soon collapse and the electorate would return to the ruling party.
The DA’s Parliament Caucus Parliament Chairperson Dr Annelie Lotriet spoke second and unsurprisingly said that her party rejects the Bill.
She said the Bill creates uncertainty around property rights, which is not what the country needs as the economy recovers from the impact of the pandemic and added that the Bill fails the Constitutional test.
Julius Malema also rejected the Bill on behalf of the EFF. He said that the Bill that parliament is asked to approve today will take African people’s struggle for land repossession many steps back.
Malema said the ANC hijacked the land expropriation without compensation parliamentary process and said the party is “hell-bent” on protecting the interests “of the white settler minority.” He accused the party of being completely captured by “white monopoly capital.”
The EFF leader said the current Bill makes meaningless provisions for the state to be the custodian of “certain land” without defining what “certain land” entails.
Expropriation Bill failure hailed a ‘victory’ for land owners
The civil rights organisation AfriForum said on Tuesday that it had taken note of the National Assembly failing to pass the amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation today. The ANC failed to get the two-thirds majority required to pass the Land Expropriation Bill.
Ernst van Zyl, Campaign Officer for strategy and content at AfriForum said: “The failure of a deeply immoral bill that would have allowed state sanctioned theft and human rights violations is a major victory for South Africans.”
“Expropriation without compensation is an inhumane policy motivated by a combination of corrupt greed and resentment,” he said.
Two significant updates on Omicron: One’s quite good, the other’s not…
In the desperate scramble for answers to the Omicron puzzle, researchers have had to take the rough with the smooth almost every time. This new variant has some fairly enigmatic properties, and for all the doom and gloom surrounding these latest developments, some positives are also emerging.
Two weeks ago, the Health Department of South Africa dropped a bombshell that changed our trajectory in the fight against COVID-19. The discovery of Omicron – with its 30+ concerning mutations – forced countries to implement hasty travel bans, and ostracise Mzansi from the rest of the world. However, the variant is now circulating globally.
Amid the cause for concern, the public has repeatedly been told not to panic. President Cyril Ramaphosa has set the tone, and no further lockdown measures have been rolled out for South Africa since Omicron reared its head. This duality in messaging has perhaps prepared us for the latest developments on Tuesday.
Open wide! Gauteng may fight Omicron with two new COVID ‘wonder pills’
We’re nearly two years into this pandemic, so it really is high time that more pharmaceutical interventions came online. Sure enough, just as the Omicron variant of COVID threatens to cause havoc, two new anti-viral pills are now officially ‘on the brink’ of being made available for public use – with Gauteng at the front of the queue.
Jack Bloom is the shadow health MEC in the province. He has pressed the local government about how they plan to stem the soaring number of cases in Gauteng, as Omicron rips through the community. His opposite number, Nomathemba Mokgethi, already seems on top of it, however:
“As Gauteng faces an escalating fourth wave, consideration is being given for the use of two overseas drugs that have shown promise as effective early treatments in overseas trials. This good news was disclosed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in an oral reply today to my questions at a virtual sitting of the Gauteng Legislature.”
“According to Mokgethi, Paxlovid and Molnupiravir drugs are being considered – although these pills are not yet registered by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). Mokgethi said that the National Essential Medicines List Committee is looking at peer reviews to finalise approval for the use of these drugs in South Africa.”
Jack Bloom
MURDER: Man known to family beheads six-year old child
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said that the man is alleged to have beheaded the child, Alwande Shabalala, who was known to him.
“The matter was postponed to 14 December 2021, at the request of the accused’s legal representative, for arrangements for him to undergo mental assessment,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala earlier said that the Ntabamhlophe SAPS had received a report about a girl who had been killed in the KwaSobabili area on 25 November 2021. She said police had found the beheaded body of the girl lying in a rondavel. SAPS Search and Rescue Unit police officers later found her head in a river.
VIDEO: Rage festival founder slams media for ‘hysteria’ that led to festivals being cancelled
An organiser and founder of both the Plett and Ballito Rage festivals, Greg Walsh, has slammed mainstream media. According to him, they’ve created the hysteria that led to the festivals being cancelled.
Walsh, recently took to social media to express his anger and disappointment.
“Out” RAGE” over the cancellation of Ballito Rage and Plett Rage festivals in 2021.
“The first of many necessary conversations! Ballito Rage and Plett Rage should NEVER have been cancelled. Please watch my video. I’m an amateur – at videos – so forgive me any editing weakness! But if you agree, please share it with someone who you think needs to hear it too!,” Walsh said.
Still no sign of kidnapped Mayfair primary school pupil – UPDATE
The schoolgirl was kidnapped outside the school at gunpoint while waiting in line to be sanitized and screened.
Here is the latest information available on the kidnapping.
- The schoolgirl is reportedly the daughter of wealthy foreign nationals who own a hotel and several other businesses in the area.
- There is confusion about the age of the girl, Local Councillor Rickey Nair told the media the girl is nine years old, but the education department has her age as 11.
- The kidnapping happened at around 7:11 on Wednesday morning, outside the E.P. Baumann Primary School.
- Three men, reportedly armed with AK47 rifles, took the schoolgirl at gunpoint.
- Nair told the media that the kidnappers knew their target and called the schoolgirl by her name.
- Their getaway vehicle has been described as a silver/white Toyota Yaris.
- The number plate of the Toyota Yaris is JS 62 CS GP.
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