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LAND OVERVIEW: Section 25, to amend or not - the people continue to speak

"If farmers' land is taken against their will, there will be hell. There will be a revolution," Valerie Byliefeldt of the National Conservative Party sternly warned during a public hearing in Limpopo. 

In another hearing in KwaZulu-Natal, one participant remarked that "our roots as blacks are land. Our land was stolen from us. We were not compensated when it was stolen from us", thus, it must be expropriated without compensation. 

Some believe expropriating land without compensation will have a devastating impact on food security, while others think the opposite.

These are some of the many conflicting views Parliament's Constitutional Review Committee has heard during public hearings currently underway into the emotive question of the land.

The committee - comprising two teams - started its tour to the country's nine provinces from June 26 and is expected to end on August 4. The aim is to hear people's views on whether Section 25 of the Constitution should be amended to allow for land expropriation without compensation.

There will also be one final phase for oral submissions in Parliament, from August 7 to 17, where presenters will be invited based on the submissions received.

So far, the committee has been to Limpopo, Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and is still expected to visit the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Western Cape. MAP: See location of land hearings near you

Here's what people had to say across the visited provinces:

Mpumalanga 

Land: The people speak - Most Middelburg residents opt for constitutional amendment

The Constitution must be amended to allow for land expropriation without compensation. This was the general consensus on Wednesday among community members from Middelburg, Mpumalanga, on the last day of the Constitutional Review Committee's public hearings in the province, Netwerk24 reported.

Land: The people speak – Malema calls for calm as speakers are booed, fears of 'economic suicide' raised

Land expropriation without compensation will not solve South Africa’s economic problems, Hennie Laas of the Volkstrust farmers’ association said on Tuesday.


Free State 

Land: The people speak - Black people opposing constitutional amendment jeered

Black speakers opposing the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution were jeered loudly at the Constitutional Review Committee's public hearing in Phuthaditjhaba in the Qwa-Qwa region in the Free State on Wednesday.

Land: The people speak - Black people can farm, public hearing told

Black people can farm and make productive use of the land. This was the message from several speakers at the Constitutional Review Committee's public hearing in Welkom on Tuesday on the amendment of the Constitution's property clause.

Land: The people speak – 'We are not against white people, but the land must be given to black people'

Several black supporters of expropriation of land without compensation extended an olive branch to their white compatriots at the public hearings in the Free State, but remained resolute that Section 25 of the Constitution must be amended.

Land: The people speak - Man says he is living proof that state ownership doesn't mean disinvestment

It is a myth that there are no investment opportunities on state-owned farms, and Pat Mathosa is living proof.


Northern Cape

Land: The people speak – Strong support for expropriation without compensation in Kuruman

"I want to hit this person called Section 25," said Pogisho Phethu with a swish of his walking stick. His was a view shared by the vast majority of the participants in the Constitutional Review Committee's public hearing on amending Section 25 of the Constitution in Mothibistad, just outside Kuruman in the Northern Cape on Friday.

Land: The people speak - Amending Constitution like 'leading Israelites out of Egypt'

A Bible and a title deed were waved at the Constitutional Review Committee's hearing on amending Section 25 of the Constitution on Thursday in Upington. Jan Daniels stood at the microphone, Bible in hand.

Land: The people speak - 'Land tells the truth,' committee hears in Upington

"Land looks like me. Land speaks the truth," !'Aru Ikhuisi Piet Berendse told the Constitutional Review Committee in Upington on Thursday morning. Dressed in his traditional garb, with a bow and a quiver of arrows over his shoulder, he started his address in Afrikaans.


Limpopo

WATCH: Malema and Lekota in heated argument at land hearing

Land: The people speak - Race relations take centre stage in Thohyandou

Race relations were placed under the spotlight at the last of the public hearings on land expropriation in Limpopo on Saturday.

Land: The people speak – Not every black person who wants land wants to be a farmer

While the Limpopo public hearings into amending Section 25 of the Constitution have focused on farmland, the reality is that not every person wants to be a farmer.

Land: The people speak – Black farmers need resources to be successful, says land claim beneficiary

Land expropriation without compensation will not help black farmers if government doesn't give them adequate financial assistance to farm the land.

Land: The people speak – Malema demands that all voices be heard

Despite being a driving force behind the campaign for land expropriation without compensation, EFF leader Julius Malema was steadfast during public hearings in Mokopane, Limpopo, that those with differing views must be heard.

Land: The people speak - Public hearings told that 'there will be hell'

"If farmers' land is taken against their will, there will be hell. There will be a revolution." This was the stern warning from Valerie Byliefeldt, provincial leader of the National Conservative Party.


North West 

Land: The people speak – 'Traditional leaders are making us suffer'

While several members of the Mahikeng community recognised and respected the role of traditional leaders in the ongoing land debate, some raised concerns over their treatment of people who live on land under their control.

Land: The people speak - Mahikeng residents call Lekota a disgrace

Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota has received a tongue lashing from some members of the Mahikeng community in the North West.

Land: The people speak - Political parties' presence felt at public hearing

Political parties made their presence felt at the final public hearing of the Constitutional Review Committee in the Northern Cape.


KwaZulu-Natal

Land: The people speak - No liberty without land, Vryheid hearing told

Liberation is incomplete without the return of the land, Parliament's Joint Constitutional Review Committee heard in Vryheid - the KwaZulu-Natal town with the name that means "freedom" or "liberty".

Land: The people speak - The Ingonyama Trust shouldn't divide

"The Ingonyama Trust must not be used to divide the people," a man said at the Constitutional Review Committee's hearing in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday, to a loud cheer.


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