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CONTRALESA President Kgoshi Lameck Mokoena addressing a Cogta event in Mpumalanga.
The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA) has criticized the recently signed Expropriation Act, saying it fails to address the needs of dispossessed black South Africans.
The Act allows government to expropriate land in the public interest to address issues affecting marginalized communities.
The Act repeals the 1975 Expropriation Act and aligns with Section 25 of the Constitution. It underwent five years of public consultation and parliamentary review before being signed into law.
CONTRALESA President, Kgosi Lameck Mokoena, stated that the Act preserves the existing property clause, which he believes limits its effectiveness in resolving land restitution issues.
“In this legislation, the features of the property clause are still in place intact, nothing has changed. The question is, if we are still having those conditions that dictate the property clause, we are back to zero. Hence, we are calling for the president to gather experts and advise him on how to do this thing. Parliament must go back and try to amend this legislation because it is not assisting our people,” said Mokoena.
He warned that under the current provisions, many deserving landowners might never see their land restored.
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Mokoena also criticized the Democratic Alliance (DA) for its opposition to the law, accusing the party of protecting white interests.
“The DA, they are just protecting the rights of those whites who are their members. There is no logic in what they are saying. DA’s members, some of them got the land without buying it. But now when the government wants to expropriate, they are saying ‘no,’ the government must buy it from them, knowing very well that they have been benefiting from those lands all these years. After having not paid a single cent for getting that land given to them by the Apartheid government. As CONTRALESA, we are saying that their opposition is baseless and selfish,” he said.
The DA announced plans to challenge the Act.
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