The ANC's former chief whip in Parliament, Mathole Motshekga. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu
With the May 29 elections approaching, the land question and the amending Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation have still not been attended to.
The ANC, EFF, PAC and ATM with others support the amending of the Constitution while the DA and the Freedom Front Plus with others opposing it.
The IFP supports land to be expropriated but believes it should be paid for.
However, former ANC chief whip and party heavyweight Dr Mathole Motshekga believes it could be detrimental to South Africa if the matter is not resolved, saying it could cause a war after the country is attacked for its land.
He was speaking at the “Podcast and Chill with King David Mashabela’’ earlier this year.
“I know my party the ANC says we must create a non-racial society but you can’t create a non-racial society between the poorest of the poor and the richest. It would never work … if you want to create a non-racial society what we need to do is to address the land question fairly.”
Motshekga said the majority of the people should have more land, be skilled to work the land and be able to produce food to feed themselves.
He took the opportunity to make an example of Brazil supplying South Africa with chicken and food being sold at spaza shops after being imported.
“Right now you have children who die from food poisoning from food from spaza shops. Who is supplying the spazas with their food?
“We are eating chicken from Brazil … and that Brazil that sends us the food, you get a ship full of cocaine from the same country.
“Is that not an attempt to exterminate us? Some would argue that it’s not the Brazilian government but criminal elements. But when the ships leave Brazil the government is not interested as to where these ships are going? They should be because that would be exports,” Motshekga said.
Asked if he was comparing the land matter with Gaza and Hamas in the Middle East where there is currently a war due to the October 7, 2023, surprise attack, Motshekga did not mince his words saying that it was definitely going to happen in South Africa if the matter was not addressed.
“It’s going to happen because the root problem is the land. The root problem in the Palestine and Israel war is the land. And here our poverty, unemployment and inequality is the root problem,” he said.
The Star
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