President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday night that the ANC national executive committee (NEC) had decided to change the Constitution to expropriate land without compensation.
Speaking after the party’s two-day NEC Lekgotla in Tshwane, he said the ANC, “through the parliamentary process” would “finalise a proposed amendment to the Constitution that outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected.”
“It has become patently clear that our people want the Constitution be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation, as demonstrated in the public hearings (on land expropriation).
“There is also a growing body of opinion, by a number of South Africans, that the constitution as it stands does not impede expropriation of land without compensation,” he said.
Read his full unedited statement below:
Fellow South Africans
Comrades and Friends,
The African National Congress has just concluded a two-day NEC Lekgotla in Tshwane.
The Lekgotla focused on a number of issues, including the current status of our economy, job creation and land reform.
It further engaged on issues of governance, social development and broader transformation which will be elaborated on by the Secretary General tomorrow.
We thought that it was important for the President of the ANC to clearly and unambiguously articulate the position of the organisation on two matters that are critical to the economic development of our country and the well-being of its people.
The first is the implementation of of the ANC’s resolution on land reform.
The second is about the current economic environment.
On land reform, the ANC applauds our people, from all walks of life – including the rural poor, farm labourers, the unemployed, the landless, urban residents, farmers and traditional leaders – for expressing their views on this critical matter.
Our people have been expressing their views on the land question openly and without any fear or favour.
They have been putting forward solutions on how the land question can be resolved.
This is the constitutional democracy that we fought for.
The ANC reaffirms its position that the Constitution is a mandate for radical transformation both of society and the economy.