25/04/2019. Former President, Thabo Mbeki talks about the 25 years that the ANC has been in government – Photo: Masi Losi
25/04/2019. Former President, Thabo Mbeki talks about the 25 years that the ANC has been in government – Photo: Masi Losi
Former President Thabo Mbeki has pondered just what direction the ANC is trying to head towards with their land expropriation policies. Just a week after confirming he would lend his support to the party he used to govern – for the first time in a decade – the 76-year-old has expressed his doubts over the restitution process.
Thabo Mbeki discusses land
During a sit-down interview with eNCA, Mbeki has accused the governing party of “failing to understand the challenges” that come with land expropriation. He says there are shortcomings from both the Zuma and Ramaphosa Administrations, which have failed to properly tackle the causes of land inequality.
“Let’s do land expropriation on an objective understanding of the challenges. Only then can we take action. The ANC never identified there was pressure for land expropriation until recently. Restitution must happen, but the current structure is too slow, with no judges or courts in place.”
“No pressure”
Thabo Mbeki, despite being the one in the hot-seat, almost started asking more questions than his host Aldrian Sampear. The ex-leader explained that land expropriation wasn’t raised as a huge issue during his nine-year tenure, and asked why the ANC isn’t grasping the complexities of the problem.
“Let’s put resources into eradicating homelessness and unemployment, too. We didn’t experience huge pressure for land from black people [in terms of ownership] during my time as president. It’s clear to me that land occupation happens in urban areas. Now why is that, and why aren’t the ANC addressing this?”
Who are “our people”?
His final point on expropriation could arguably be the most salient. Mbeki isn’t particularly pleased with the way the governing party are promising to return land to “our people”. He feels that type of language is exclusionary and doesn’t have a place within the ANC.
“When the ANC says ‘we’ll expropriate and give to our people’ – who, in their eyes, qualify as ‘our people’? Another party can say that, but the ANC can’t. The Freedom Charter says the land should be shared among those who work it – why are we departing from that?”
