Responding to matters raised during the presidency budget vote debate in the National Assembly on Thursday‚ Zuma said the land question would be dealt with within the parameters of the Constitution.
The government has been hard-pressed to complete the land reform programme amid concerns by some farmer organisations and opposition parties that people might resort to “Zimbabwe-style land grabs”. During Wednesday’s debate‚ Pieter Groenewald from the Freedom Front Plus called on Zuma “to tell white people where they stand”.
Zuma responded on Thursday saying he did not hate white people‚ and the land issue will be resolved within the law.
“We will not do [land reform] like Zimbabwe. This is SA‚ not Zimbabwe. Why do you think I hate the whites? I have said if we fail to address the land question‚ we will sit down and look at changing the law. That is my position and that of the ANC. It will all be done within the law‚” said Zuma.
Zuma has‚ on more than two occasions‚ said the Constitution should be amended to allow for land expropriation without compensation. The ANC has decided to convene a special meeting to deal with the issue before its policy conference in June.
Post published in: Africa News