Johannesburg – The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) on Wednesday said it was seeking an audience with its mother body – the African National Congress (ANC) – to "understand the rationale" of the partý's Parliament caucus for opposing expropriation of land without compensation.
The party's chief whip Jackson Mthembu on Tuesday said the ANC does not agree with any form of land expropriation without compensation in the country. He was responding to a motion tabled by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the National Assembly calling for the amendment of the Constitution to accelerate land transformation.
The ANC chief whip said the EFF's motion was misplaced and overlooked various programmes and reviews that were underway.
Reacting to the ANC stance, the ANCWL said it will seek audience with ANC to fully understand the rationale of the ANC Parliament caucus on its decision during the debate on the amendment of section 25 of the Constitution.
The women's league said during the response to the State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Jacob Zuma explicitly indicated that the ANC-led government has the interest of the people at heart, and will do all in its powers to ensure that land is returned to the people.
"The ANCWL believes that there should not be any iota of incoherence between ANC resolutions and ANC-led government programmes."
Land redistribution is an ANC programme and must be implemented as such without fear or favour, said the women's league.
"Any delay by the ANC-led government in implementing ANC resolutions will give grounds to demagoguery, opportunistic populist formations to throw rhetorics and portray themselves as the champions of the poor and the working class," said ANCWL secretary general Meokgo Matuba in a statement.
"The funded mercenaries who are proudly bedfellows of our historical class enemies, will portray themselves as the solution to socio-economic challenges the country is facing whilst they are mere election foot soldiers of the neo-liberal political party that is advancing white supremacy."
Land is the main source of economy and freedom will never be complete until the majority who are landless owns land, the league said.
"Whilst the ANCWL acknowledges that there are various programmes and reviews underway to ensure that land is returned to the people of South Africa as stated in the Freedom Charter, the ANCWL is of the view that the process is slow and the landless people who the majority are blacks will not wait any longer
"However, in implementing the land redistribution the ANC led government should not do that in reactionary manner that will plunge the country into chaos."
The ANCWL called on its supporters and members to rally behind the ANC and support its call for radical socio-economic transformation which includes land redistribution
"Unless persuaded otherwise, the ANCWL will during the conversation with the ANC seek to persuade the ANC to consider reviewing the decision of the ANC Caucus on the issue of land."