Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said on Monday that his party did not believe that land expropriation without compensation would be orderly and benign, as specified by the ruling party African National Congress (ANC), which recently supported a motion on expropriation of land without compensation bought by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Parliament.

Maimane was speaking at a media briefing at Constitution Hill, in Johannesburg, where the DA set out its position on land reform.

EFF leader Julius Malema has threatened to unseat DA Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Athol Trollip after the DA did not support the EFF’s motion.

Maimane said his party supports land restitution and land redistribution, as well as efforts to undo the legacy of forced land dispossession, which still reverberates in society today.

“More than just supporting these reform and restitution efforts, we can proudly lay claim to having the best track record of any party in South Africa in actually giving effect to this commitment where we govern,” said Maimane.

He said his party had a proactive, positive land reform agenda which sought to make individuals “real property owners”.

“We envision a South Africa in which every person can own property, and that the circumstances of their birth is no impediment to them acquiring and accumulating wealth creating assets. Where we are in government, we focus obsessively on title deed reform - which makes real home owners of recipients of State-subsidised housing, who have until now not had actual ownership of the homes they live in,” said Maimane.

Land reform projects under DA governments have a success rate six times higher than nationally, according to the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform’s own information the DA leader declared.

The DA also stressed that it was implacably opposed to any abrogation of existing private property rights.
Maimane said that expropriation of land without compensation was State-sanctioned theft.

“We regard the attempt to amend the Constitution as nothing but a populist effort to scapegoat the Constitution for the failure of the ANC, over twenty years, to reform land ownership. Every expert agrees with this view. Indeed, even former President Kgalema Motlanthe’s High Level Panel report underscores the point: The Constitution is not an impediment to land reform, neither is the requirement for compensation,” Maimane said.

The DA also rejected the “hate-filled racist undertones” employed by the EFF and the ANC during the land debate.

The DA leader said his party would oppose the amendment with every tool at their disposal.

“We will mobilise public support behind us, and we call on all South Africans to join in our effort to defeat this Constitutional amendment - starting with signing this petition to protect our Constitution. Every person who owns property, and every person who aspires to own property, should join our effort to defeat this EFF/ANC plan,” he added.

The DA rather wants the State to fulfil the Constitutional injunction to correct the injustice of forced land dispossession and diversify land ownership patterns in the country.

Maimane said under a DA-led government new recipients of State-subsidised housing will receive full title, and past recipients of RDP homes will given full title.

The DA promises to make it cheaper for first time buyers to purchase homes through the lowering of transfer costs and states that the party will distribute the thousands of unsuccessful government-owned farms and fallow land as well as give residents of tribal land security of tenure that is recorded and legally enforceable.

Maimane also mentioned that the DA will allocate adequate budgets to settle all remaining land restitution claims, and for land reform purposes, on the basis of the Constitutional guidelines for compensation.

“Anyone who wants to farm will receive the support they need to be successful, through the transference of skills and by providing access to the resources and markets they need to sell their goods. All of this is attainable without amending the Constitution,” he concluded.