Cape Town - Deputy President David Mabuza says the defeat of the ANC’s motion in the National Assembly to pass a Bill to allow expropriation of land without compensation was now water under the bridge.
The ANC failed to get 67% of MPs in the House to back the 18th constitutional amendment to allow for expropriation of land without compensation.
However, differences between the ANC and EFF led to the collapse of the plan to push through the bill.
Mabuza told Parliament that despite this setback of failing to pass the Bill this week they have got other instruments to address land reform in the country.
One of the key pieces of legislation they would use is the Expropriation Bill, which allows the state to expropriate land in the public interest or for a public purpose.
The Expropriation Bill is currently before the public works committee.
Mabuza said what happened this week was now water under the bridge after the ANC could not get through the 18th constitutional amendment.
“I don’t think we should go back to that process that has happened. That is water under the bridge. There are many options available on land reform,” said Mabuza.
One of the things they need is the resources to deal with the restitution process.
When the Constitutional Court halted the land restitution claims in 2014, more than 150 000 new land claims had been lodged.
Mabuza said they would need to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana to look at the resources to deal with the restitution claims.
Since the process started before the cut-off-date of December 1998, more than 82 000 claims had been instituted at a cost of more than R25 billion.
But there were still many outstanding claims that needed to be processed, but there was no money to push through the claims, said Mabuza.
It is this regard they would need both Ramaphosa and Godongwana to discuss the restitution claims.
Political Bureau