The African National Congress has reacted sharply to demands by the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) in the Eastern Cape to either give it land, or see farms in the region occupied forcefully on election day.
The ruling party said on Thursday it will not tolerate hooliganism aimed at misleading people and creating chaos and discord.
”Those with designs to deliberately flout the law and occupy land illegally will be met with the full might of the law,” it warned in a statement.
On Wednesday, more than 300 members of the LPM marched in Bisho to the premier’s office, where they gave the government seven days in which to respond to an ultimatum: give us land, or we will take over farms forcefully on April 14.
LPM members travelled from Umtata, Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth, Bizana and Grahamstown to the provincial capital.
An angry LPM national organiser, Mangaliso Kubheka, told the Daily Dispatch that the government has done nothing to return land to its rightful owners.
”We voted for the wrong government in 1994. So next month we are not prepared to vote at all.”
Kubheka accused the ANC of diverting from its manifesto that it will give land to the poor.
”When we go home, we are going to campaign for people not to vote. When they go to vote, we are going to occupy land by force if we have to,” he said.
The ANC on Thursday said it has made ”significant progress” over the past decade on the land issue.
It said LPM statements that the ANC has diverted from its 1994 manifesto commitments are ”baseless and unfounded”.
”Since 1994, the ANC-led government has redistributed in excess of 1,8-million hectares of land and over half of all land restitution claims have been settled.”
It warned that although the Constitution recognises the right to demonstrate and freedom of expression, ”such rights do not include a right to perpetuate lies, violate the law, and act in a manner calculated to polarise society”.
”The ANC indeed respects the right of the Landless People’s Movement to choose to forgo their right to vote, but will not tolerate any act calculated at intimidating people and stopping them from exercising their right to vote.
”The South African government is a democratically elected government that represents the popular will of the people, and will not be cowed into succumbing to deadlines based on lies and disinformation.
”If the LPM has legitimate concerns regarding the land restitution process, these can and should be dealt with through the appropriate government departments,” it said.
Meanwhile, the New National Party has called on the ANC to hold urgent, high-level negotiations with the LPM ”before things get out of hand”.
In a statement on Thursday, NNP media director Carol Johnson said land is a sensitive issue in South Africa, and warned that the LPM’s remarks could create panic.
”The NNP believes that very serious talks must take place with this movement and that the land restitution process must be explained to them, because the effects of illegal land invasions on this country and its economy are cause for concern.
”This movement is creating unnecessary panic amongst South Africans, who already fear that land restitution in South Africa will go the way of Zimbabwe and now Namibia. The NNP will not allow this to happen.
”Government must not allow people such as the LPM to stir up emotions even further on issues of land invasions,” Johnson said. — Sapa