Accessing Land in SA Today

There are two broad realities under which land be accessed. First, is under conditions where EFF is not in power. The second is when EFF is in power or under revolutionary conditions. Each reality demands a different tactical and political process. Below we discuss what EFF should do to increase the possibility of revolutionary government and land redistribution through a series of interventions, including how to use parliament to strengthen the development of mass revolutionary movement outside parliament. The strategy is to strangulate the forces of reaction with a double dialectical move at once whose rhythm resonated with outside-inside motion.

1. 
   Substantive Motions
   

As a Leninst Party, the EFF shall agitate at multiple levels for land redistribution programme. First, access to parliament shall be used to move substantive motions for “Expropriation of Land without compensations” at every opportunity. A debate on this motion in the national assembly shall be agitated for. The arguments for land exproriation without compensation remains a superior logic within the reality of white racism of the South Africa society. Such a motion shall educate the masses of our and also expose the reactionary nature of the parliamentary parties and reveal more the revolutionary character of our party to the suffering majority of our people. Within this tactical move, the argument whether the South African Constitution allows for expropriation without compensation shall be clarified more.

2. 
   Amend Section 25
   

EFF shall agitate for the total amendment of section 25 of the constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation and has offered its 6.2% towards realizing a two thirds majority to make the amendment possible. This offer is a revolutionary gesture that insists on the resolution of the land question as part of a national agenda beyond partisan party process. But it’s also an offer that makes all parties that refuse it exposed for their neo-apartheid nature and servants of the white landed classes and preservers of the anti-black status qou. It shall become clear to our people that only EFF with a two thirds majority can realise land redistribution, because of its revolutionary character. The question has to be asked, why is the ruling party rejecting the call for amending section 25?

3. 
   Referendum!
   

Should the motion for land and expropriation be defeated in the National Assembly (NA), EFF must call for a referendum on whether our people agree to buy back the stolen land. This is so because, the NA is constituted by only 400 people and the land question were never put on a plebiscite. The question to vote for is a simple yes! or no! on “Should South Africa buy back land from white land owners”? This motion would also ignite national debate and education and also develop radical consciousness. Should the NA refuse the referendum call, then EFF must undertake such a process with civil society and church and launch the, “1 million say YES to land redistribution!” Campaign. After the campaign has secured the 1 million votes, EFF should be undertaken and mass action to force the National Assembly to undertake a referendum and test the popular will on the question. EFF must return power to the people and insist on the democratic participation of our people on the resolution of the land question. Land is too important to be left to only 400 people!

4. 
   National Land Conference
   

To fortify national consciousness and to win over allies to the EFF position on land, it is proposed that a land conference be held in 2015 June. This conference to include all the landless formations, churches, land civil society, researchers an expers. The conference shall take stock of the land reform programmne in South Africa and test some of the proposals of the EFF with a broad range of society players. Such a conference shall have an international lessons component form societies which has carried land redistribution. It is strong suggested that a fact finding mission to Zimbabwe be carried out as part of the preparations for the conference.

5. 
   Support Land Demand in Cape Town
   

Also EFF shall support the spontaneous land occupation movement and seek to guide it. In the specific case of the Western Cape and Cape Town in particular, EFF has to undertake campaigns inside parliament to insist that a permanent solution is found the annual shack fires and floods which often put people in the most distressing conditions for weeks and often leads to deaths by shack fires and floods. These annual tragic events are preventable and an indication of the urban land question. Parliament is in Cape Town and these developments also happen in Cape Town. EFF must undertake massive campaigns for parliament to respond to this predictable and unacceptable reality for the poor of Cape Town.

6. 
   Lessons from Philippines
   

The limitations of using progressive laws outside the existence of a progressive movement is what is happening right now in the Philippines. In 2009 the Pilipino government inacted a radical land redistribution law, which amongst others prescribed that land can be redistributed without or little compensation from large scale land owners to the land hungry. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms, or CARPER, was praised by all progressive people and celebrated by landless peasants. But five years since its promulgation, the peasants and landless have not benefited from this progressive land law. The main reason as articulated by professor Walden Bello is that the government or bureaucracy that was meant to carry out the land policy was reactionary and therefore subverted the policy at implementation level. It is therefore, important that any land redistribution law is supported and driven by a mass movement and doesn’t not take away the power of the people but supports it. The Philippine example shows that it’s possible to have progressive laws but reactionary bureaucracies and therefore undermine the very progressive laws. All means must be undertaken not to surrender land redistribution to professionals within the state system. The state must support and protect the people who must play a central role in the agrarian revolution.

10. 
    Mass Action Outside Parliament
    

Following these processes described above, EFF must consider a return to land campaign. 2017 must be declared the year of land return! This campaign, following the exhaustion of the parliamentary process, the education of our people, and mobilizing towards the 1 million yes campaign, must engage all the landless people of the country to undertake land return to the people. Many communities have laid claim since 1994, and the re-opening of the Restitution process shall attract even more landless people who shall not see any land in their lifetimes under the current land reform regime. Add to this number the urban landless and farm workers. This land return campaign, recognises that South African under the ruling party is hostile to land redistribution and therefore building mass power to reclaim land outside the state process is the only realistic option open to the people. However, to arrive at this conclusion, EFF needs mass support and understanding, hence all the parliamentary processes must be understood as part of building a radical consciousness and people’s power from the base.

11. 
    How Shall Land be Owned and by whom (The Land Tenure Regime)?
    

EFF is committed to land for all the people of the country on an equitable basis. All those who need land shall be given land at no cost to themselves. The state shall remain the custodian of all the land in the country. Land access shall be done by a simple application, as simple as an application for a grant. Any citizen shall state the purpose for which the land is being applied for and the state shall provide such an applicant with the land within the set limits and land uses permitted for such land in the area in question.

12. 
    State Shall be the Sole Owners of All Land
    

The state shall be sole land owner in the country, holding such land in trust for the people as a whole. Land shall stop to be a commodity, in other words, no land shall be sold and bought. Land shall be accessed without paying a cent to all those who need it both black and white. All shall apply to the state for land use licenses. Foreigners shall be allocated land for use only not land shall be sold.

13. 
    Bond Repayment to be reduced to 10 Years!
    

The price land which is part of current value of mortgages shall be immediately subtracted from the bond value. This would reduce the current exorbitant bond prices and contribute to the policy of reducing bond repayment to less than ten years as proposed by the EFF.

14. 
    Which Land shall be except from Expropriation?
    

Land Expropriation doesn’t not apply to residential areas or the housing stock. The EFF government shall not expropriate houses of individuals or residential land. A set size for residential property shall be set and multiple ownership of land not permitted but leasing on a 99 year period for such housing shall be permitted.

15. 
    Democratization of Land Tenure in Former Homelands and Land Under Chiefs
    

Land that is currently managed or held in trust under the traditional leadership shall also be subjected to the same rule as private agricultural and industrial land. In other words, land currently administered by chiefs shall revert to the state and all citizens shall apply for land use. Apply for land use licenses include land for cultural, traditional and spiritual uses. Land shall be managed by democratically elected committees with 100% gender representation. It must be emphasized that the EFF land redistribution policy is not about dispossessing our people but addressing land dispossession, therefore, the net effect of these interventions shall lead to more land than land dispossession.

16. 
    National Question
    

The land question is directly linked to the national question (NQ), which is about overcoming the colonial tribal divisions, apartheid artificial identities and end to white supremacy. The resolution of the NQ is basically about creating new society based on values of equality and democracy for all. To this extent any recreation of tribal enclaves and consciousness that threatens to undermine the development of national consciousness must be rejected. The reopening of the land restitution claims must be seen within the context of the ruling party’s attempt to bribe the kings and chiefs to deliver the rural vote. To attain this the ruling party has gone into a reckless revival of tribal identities, with the real consequence of tribal warfare based on overlapping claims and land being given or rather the promise of land access through tribal affiliation instead of need and citizenship. The re-opening of the Restitution of Land Rights or the claims process must be rejected as a dangerous return to the Bantustan divisions to maintain “local despotism” and subjecting large sections of our to the status of subjects instead of citizens¹². This is done for the same logic as apartheid did, to divide and rule. The urban voters are increasingly shedding the illusion that ANC is a liberation movement and voting for radical transformation. The ruling party seeks to bulkanise the country to ensure electoral support through taking care of the chiefs and kings and subverting democracy and building a new nation. Land must never be accessed on the basis of tribal affiliation. The land and all its wealth belong to the people as a whole not to tribal enclaves.

17. 
    What Shall We Do With The Land Once It Has Been Reclaimed?
    

Often rural development is used as ruse to deny the legitimacy of land redistribution. This logic must be exposed for what it is. As part of responding to the colonizing discourses on land, there is a need to place the question squarely: LAND MUST BE RETURNED BECAUSE IT BELONGS TO BLACK PEOPLE! That’s the first principle. What we would do with the land is none of the business of the land thieves. We want back because it’s ours! That there shall be a new efficient black farming class and that land shall be used productively is secondary question. We want it back even if it’s to look at it every morning and cry out loud IZWE-LETHU!

18. 
    Rural Development
    

Rural Development is central to the agrarian revolution. It must end the current profit motive that dominates agricultural production. Rural development must end the slave and master relations on farms and also end the town and rural divisions between town and country. Land redistribution and obliteration of the power of the landed racial lords on commercial farms and feudal in former homelands is central to a new agrarian system that responds to the needs of people and the environment.

19. 
    The following measures shall be taken by an EFF government.
    

1. 
   The EFF Government’s ideological, political and programmatic approach to rural development is inspired by the notion that there should be “Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country”.
   

2. 
   The EFF’s view of rural development is not trapped in the notion that the rurality of rural areas should be left intact, instead, rural areas should begin to partake in real economic activities and programmes, which should be supported and financed by the State.
   

3. 
   The EFF Government custodianship of all land will lead into equal redistribution of all land amongst all people.
   

4. 
   The EFF Government will help small scale agriculture with agricultural implements, bulk irrigation schemes, bulk stock feeding schemes and medication to produce quality agricultural products.
   

5. 
   The EFF Government will revive abandoned factories in the townships and rural areas.
   
6. 
   The EFF Government will help chicken farmers with state owned hatcheries, abattoirs and chicken processing factories which will be at the centre of growing and assisting the production of chicken products.
   

7. 
   The EFF Government will help small agriculture to gain sustainable access to markets through increasing state consumption of food and agricultural products from small scale farmers, compelling food retailers to buy food and agricultural products locally and opening African and world food markets.
   

8. 
   The EFF government shall pass laws to prohibit the production of Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) specifically maize, the staple diet of the people.
   

9. 
   National campaigns shall be undertaken to educate the nation about the dangers of GMOs.
   

10. 
    Institutions of higher learning shall be required to provide courses in rural development to prepare graduates for national service.
    

20. 
    How shall our movement circumvent the real danger of imperialist sabotage?
    

Imperialism and global racist elements are expected to react to the mass land redistribution through Expropriation Without Compensation just like they did in Zimbabwe. The strategy of imperial sabotage is based on mass terror, starvation and attacks on the economy of progressive government including running on the currency of such nations to instigate unmanageable inflation to strangulate the people to submission through hunger and economic hardships. Our people must be educated and prepared for this reaction and the revolutionary government must be prepared to defend national soverignity and ameliorate the impact of such expected imperial attack. The fact that imperialism shall respond in these ways should not be a deterant to the radical agenda but a motivation to plan better. EFF is driven by revolutionary courage and shall not be intimidated into submission by bully tactics of imperialism and representatives of settler colonialism.

Social Transformation

1. Equality before the law.

2. Champion an Afrocentric social justice system.

3. Criminalise corporate worker-exploitation crime as well as multi-national corporations (MNCs) / private corporations crimes: as well as an Economic Justice Constitutional Court to prosecute MNCs / private corporations

4. Criminalise the usage of state agencies to victimise, harass, or kill members of the population whether privately or publicly / communally in protests, strikes or organised marches.

5. Establish a functional and effective juvenile and sexual offences arm of the legal system.

6. Abolish high sentencing.

7. Abolish the bail system.

8. Introduce just deserts and restorative justice as the main concepts of the law, thereby making the law a social aspect and not a state-centred one.

9. Abolish court translation into African languages, by writing the law in all nine African languages and establishing court procedures in the language of choice of the accused.

10. Introduce a penal system based purely on correctional behaviour, and rehabilitation.

11. Fair, transparent and independent justice system.

12 Community-Partnerships justice & correctional facilities.