THE government is considering using expropriation to make land available for restitution, new Land Affairs director-general Gilingwe Mayende said on Tuesday. Addressing the Pretoria Press Club, Mayende also announced an imminent crackdown on those who illegally evicted people from their land. Mayende said an over-reliance on market forces and the willing buyer-willing seller principle had become an impediment to the pace of land restitution. “It needs to be emphasised that pursuing the willing buyer-willing seller option has not been for want of a better alternative, but it has been based on a belief that our fellow citizens would co-operate with us and rise to the challenge of land reform facing our country.” However, some land owners had the perception that they could make “quite a killing” when negotiating a sale with the government, Mayende said. He said the constitution empowered the government to expropriate land if it was in the public interest. According to the constitution, land reform is in the public interest. Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza will make an announcement on the issue in due course.