Cape Town - The Ad Hoc committee on land expropriation without compensation is facing pressure from the official opposition to consider thousands of written submissions made during the last day of public comments.
This comes while the committee is still busy with public hearings across the country.
On Sunday it continued its work in the Free State and Mpumalanga.
But the DA said it wanted the committee to consider the 94000 submissions it had made.
DA caucus chairperson Annelie Lotriet said this was an important matter, and that it did not support the expropriation of land without compensation.
“From this overwhelming reaction, it is patently clear that South Africans are anxious about the impact that this amendment will have on their future,” said Lotriet.
“As the integrity of our Constitution is at stake, the DA will use its presence in Parliament to ensure that the voice of every South African is heard and taken into account to stop this amendment from seeing the light of day.”
The issue of land expropriation has been a topic of discussion since last year when the process to amend the Constitution began.
The ad hoc committee was tasked with conducting public hearings across the country.
The chairperson of the committee, Mathole Motshekga, said despite the deadline having expired last Saturday, members of the public were still allowed to attend the public hearings to express their views on the matter.
He said this was an important process for all South Africans.
He added that the public hearings in the Free State at the weekend had gone very well.
“The majority of the participants called for the expeditious finalisation of the constitutional amendment. Some of the participants told the delegation that it was time for economic freedom, and that freedom, according to them, came with land, as the majority of South Africans received only political freedom in 1994,” Motshekga said.
The public hearings will move to other provinces later this week.
But the DA insisted that they wanted to ensure that every submission made was considered by the committee. The ANC and EFF have previously warned that the written submissions could not be used at the public hearings, and that both processes should be taken into consideration.
The committee was supposed to conclude its work this month, when it was expected to table its report in Parliament. But a request was made to the Speaker for an extension to the end of April. This followed the extension of the deadline for written submissions from the end of January to the end of February.