'ANC‚ Ramaphosa letting EFF get away with land grabs' - Gauteng DA

The DA in Gauteng has accused the ANC of letting the EFF get away with breaking the law.

The EFF in the province on Tuesday admitted that it was behind a series of recent land invasions‚ saying the occupations were official EFF policy.

John Moodey‚ the DA leader in Gauteng‚ said such actions were illegal and called for action from authorities.

"The EFF and ANC do not want South Africans to own land. They merely want our people to be tenants‚ renting land from the government‚" Moodley said in a statement.

"These land grabs are nothing short of political posturing of the worst kind and show the EFF’s blatant disregard for the rule of law and the Constitution. This all while Ramaphosa and the ANC sit idle."

The land issue has received renewed attention this year after the ANC agreed to land expropriation without compensation at its policy conference in December. A similar motion‚ tabled by the EFF‚ was later adopted by parliament's National Assembly.

The ANC has said that expropriation will take place within the confines of the law and without upsetting food security. But the DA has vehemently opposed such a policy.

"The DA is opposed to illegal land occupation‚ in the same way that we oppose land expropriation without compensation. We are the only major party that wants South Africans to own the land they live on‚" Moodley said.

"The debate and actions around land reform need to be conducted in a constructive and responsible manner. The land reform debate must always be about empowering the people‚ especially the poor."