DA leader Mmusi Maimane is of the view that the ruling ANC does not have the will to resolve the land issue.
“The land claims registered here 20 years ago in 1998 are no nearer to being resolved than they were back then," he told the people of Mkhondo, Mpumalanga at a public meeting on Saturday following a meeting with traditional leaders.
The leaders claim they have been waiting for decades for land to be returned.
"Forget what the ANC says in the media about land reform and land restitution. Forget about President Ramaphosa’s promises and commitments. Words mean nothing until you put them into action," he said.
While land issues in Mkhondo are ignored, the town has visibly been allowed to deteriorate, Maimane said.
"While the ANC has spent two and a half decades dragging its feet on the land claim, they have let the towns and villages here deteriorate to a point where the conditions are barely liveable."
Maimane further lambasted the ruling party for allegedly making its presence felt in this region only when it needed votes.
"I am told the ANC is only visible here before elections, when they roll into town with food parcels. Because that’s all that the people in these communities mean to them: easy votes. And it’s the same with the community leaders they installed here – they are simply being used by the ANC to deliver votes in exchange for patronage," Maimane claimed.
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