A follow-up to hearings held this week in Concordia and Upington
The third leg of Northern Cape’s public hearings into land expropriation might have been more subdued than those preceding it, but the general call made was clear: Section 25 of the Constitution must be changed.
A follow-up to hearings held this week in Concordia and Upington, Friday’s leg was held in Kuruman.
They from part of national hearings on a review of the section — which covers property rights — to make it possible for the state to expropriate land “in the public interest without compensation”.
Earlier this year, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces resolved to mandate the joint constitutional review committee to review this section of the Constitution. More than 700 000 written submissions forms from the public were made.
READ MORE: Northern Cape Nama farmers fear expropriation of ancestral land
As part of his oral submission, Kuruman resident, Henry Chueue of the Economic Freedom Fighters, called for land expropriation without compensation.
“We live in the biggest province [in South Africa], but a lot of that land is in the hands of mining companies and corporations,” Chueue said.
Isaac Karudi, a 62-year-old Kuruman resident, supported the call. “Let the rightful owners of the land be given back the land,” Karudi said.
READ MORE: “Yes to expropriation” the general feeling at Upington public hearings
The final leg of province’s public hearings on the matter will be held in Kimberley tomorrow.