Feathers fly over land bill

Sparks flew in parliament yesterday as the DA and the FF+ opposed the Restitution of Land Rights Bill while all other parties supported it.

The bill was passed by 217 votes to 59. The DA met for more than three hours on Monday to debate the issue after which it introduced a host of amendments yesterday. These included shortening the period to lodge new claims, and demanding that there be the requisite budget before land claims are processed.

The ANC accused the DA of merely finding ways to oppose transformation. The DA and other parties attacked the way the ANC government had failed to fulfil its promises on land reform amid corruption.

Rural Development and Land Affairs Minister Gugile Nkwinti said the bill would reopen land claims until 30 June 2019 for those who did not lodge claims before the previous cut-off date. It would also equate the standing of Land Claims Court judges with those of the High Court.

Nkwinti said the DA was like jackals pretending to hunt with the dogs, "but we know they will never be with us".

Cope, the IFP and the UDM supported the bill while raising concerns about how the process had been handled so far.

The DA's Annette Steyn said shortcomings of the current process, which had resulted in 90% of redistributed farms failing and lying fallow, were not addressed by the bill.