South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to accelerate the controversial land reform proposed by the African National Congress (ANC) earlier this year that has raised the issue of race in the African nation.
"We are making history and commemorating the return of their land today. We are correcting historical injustice and returning land to their rightful owners," the president said in delivering 4,856 hectares of land to the community of KwaMkhwanazi in Empangeni, northeast of KwaZulu-Natal.
Ramaphosa admitted that his government has been very slow in the process of restitution and redistribution of agricultural land, emphasizing that land is a fundamental pillar for economic emancipation and freedom.
"We are starting a massive land distribution program in our country.
We will be returning to earth in a massive way. This land of Mkhwanazi is the first, "said the president." Today we are making history, celebrating the return of land to our people in this area. "
The KwaMkhwanazi community had been dumped from previously owned lands in several stages: the first, after the First World War, and then in the 1940s, when commercial cane and timber operations were expanded.
Agrarian reform has become a hot issue both nationally and internationally, as the South African government has announced plans to amend the constitution, allowing expropriation of land without compensation. The new law would allow the land to be taken from the white farmers and redistributed to the landless black majority.
The policy is supposed to eliminate significant inequality in land ownership in South Africa. The reform has evoked an intense international debate along with several media reports of alleged violence against white farmers, including murders.
The move also raised deep concerns about the decline in food production and international investment in the economy. However, the government says land reform is absolutely legal and will not threaten South Africa's stability.
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