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Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder. Photo: Sarah Makoe
Cape Town - Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder gave the hornet's nest of land ownership a sharp political poke in Parliament on Wednesday.
He suggested that black “Bantu-speaking” people had no historical claim to 40 percent of the country.
“Africans in particular never in the past lived in the whole of South Africa,” he said during debate in the National Assembly on last week's State of the Nation address.
Mulder's remarks provoked an angry buzz from ruling party benches, which rose in pitch when he then explained: “There is sufficient proof that there were no Bantu-speaking people in the Western Cape and north-western Cape.”
These areas formed 40 percent of South Africa’s land surface, he told MPs.
Mulder serves in President Jacob Zuma's Cabinet as deputy agriculture minister.
He was responding to the president's statement in his address on Thursday, that the willing-buyer willing-seller option had “not been the best way to address” land redistribution.
Mulder said the question of land ownership was an emotional issue that had caused many wars.
In the South African context, Bantu-speaking people had moved down the continent from Africa's equatorial regions, while Europeans had moved up from the Cape. They had met at the Kei River, in the present-day Eastern Cape.
“There are also differences of opinion about the influence of the Difaqane on land ownership. Read the diaries of the Voortrekkers about what they found when they moved into the interior,” he told MPs.
The Sotho word Difaqane - in Zulu, Mfecane - is the term used by historians for a period of internecine warfare involving various tribal groups in the interior of southern Africa during the early to middle 19th century.
Mulder took issue with land ownership figures cited by Zuma in his address.
“The president quotes in his address the department of rural development’s figures on land reform.
“According to these, white people possessed 87 percent of the land, and the government had reached only eight percent of its 30 percent (land reform) target. I seriously differ from these figures.
“How does the department calculate the eight percent? There isn’t a completed land audit against which we could correlate these facts.”
The Development Bank of South Africa calculated in 2001 that 44 percent of the country's land belonged to whites, 20 percent to blacks, nine percent to coloured people and one percent to Asians.
“The way in which the department has calculated the 30 percent and eight percent figures creates the impression that they are setting themselves up to fail.”
Mulder said he seriously differed with the claim that white people had stolen land.
Referring to Zuma's remarks on the willing-buyer willing-seller option, he said that, in plain language, this meant the government now believed in the nationalisation of agricultural land.
However, anyone who had dealt with land reform knew the problem was not with the willing-buyer-willing-seller principle.
“The problem is the disastrous way land reform is being applied. There are many letters on my desk from white commercial farmers, who have offered their land to the department and received no reply.”
There were also many letters from white commercial farmers who had concluded sales agreements with the department and gone bankrupt three years later because the department had not paid them out.
Mulder asked why the department of rural development did not buy farms in the Kalahari and Karoo.
“In the Karoo and Kalahari, huge farms are available. Why does the department not buy some of that land to reach their 30 percent quicker? These semi-desert lands are, however, added to the 87 percent propaganda percentage as white land.”
Mulder said he hoped there would come a time when both white and black commercial farmers did not have to look for opportunities elsewhere in Africa.
“I dream of white and black commercial farmers who do not have to go to Africa for opportunities. The children who were born in 1994 are 18 years old this year and can vote. They only know an ANC government,” he said.
“There is no reason why such a child should not be able to buy a farm or obtain a bursary, just because he or she is white. Yet this is still happening.”
Mulder's speech proved too much for Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who, after he finished speaking, leapt to her feet and demanded to know whether it was parliamentary for a member “to blatantly distort history”.
Speaker Max Sisulu dismissed this, saying it was a point of information, not a point of order. - Sapa
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John Alues, wrote
Westerners will always remain self-centered and thief's. You forced us to your land, you said we are not welcomed, you invaded our land you said we should get out. Where is Western Cape located? Europe? Even if you where the first to build your house in Cape Town or not, is totally meaningless. Cape town is 100% Africa land. Mr. get hold of yourself. Yes, I believe where you leave is your home but that does not give you or any one to claim ownership with regards to God's given rights.
Sthembeka, wrote
I dont know which history book Pieter Mulder was reading and I have one question for him. Who found the blacks living in South Africa? Who took land from the blacks?
TVA, wrote
I totally agree. My family owns land in the Cross RoadsPhillipi area. I grew up there were no blacks there what so ever ... now suddenly the place is a swatter camp. My family is coloured....we have the papers to prove that we own that land. Up to today we need to guard our property for fear of people puttin gup shacks. So I have to agree - Blacks do not own anything 100%.
Impartial, wrote
The facts are the facts. There were no 'black' people in the western Cape. I don't think that's important. What is important is that the whole issue is dealt with efficiently and fairly, and not used as an excuse for tub thumping by well fed politicians.
Sipho, wrote
This is absolute distortion of history at its best. We are the rightful owners of this God land in South Africa.
Bman, wrote
What is clear to me, after reading the comments on IOL daily, is that black South African's have become the most racist, xenophobic people on Earth. It is clear that white people, whether they contibute to SA or not, are not welcome in SA and until they leave, their land, jobs and rights will be taken away. Probably violently - as is the African way. Followed by the persecution of the whites will be the Chinese, Indian and coloured South Africans who have all contrubuted to SA but do not have direct African roots - Ethnic cleansing!! What will be left will be various 'African' groups fighting amongst each other for their piece of South Africa which leave the once beautiful country, that have a great future for all, in ruin and another sad African story. Please learn from history and don't repeat it. South African can only prosper if ALL South African's, whatever their heritage, work together!!
Angry Dumi, wrote
Leli Bhunu Lidakwe yini manje, I'm blaming the ANC for agreements prior to 1994, that's why we have all this mess...Mugabe once said: 'SA democrary is an arrangement', i agree with him...
Mandy, wrote
Well said Mr Mulder. Bottom line is that this is not land distribution for the good of the economy but a land grab for political expediency. We need commercial farmers of any colour. Unfortunately this government practices Subsistence Politics which is just like Subsistence Farming - for today and today only. Whites are not the downfall of Africa - Greed is. I am white and African and Jesse JacksonOprah etc are Black and American.
makhoba, wrote
What Pieter Mulder has said I've heard before. The extreme right wing organisations and white supremacists have propagated it before. Its just that it had not been articulated so boldly in PARLIEMENT as it was by him. Actually others take it further and allege that by the time of the arrival of the white settlers Africans had occupied no land to the south of the Orange River and therefore the entire SA area was up for grabs by both black and white "settlers". So we have equal claim to the land therefore. Good thing its now in the public domain so that we can once and for all remove it from their psyche!
jd, wrote
Why is the khoi san, bushmen never part of this argument.
Xray, wrote
To Debunker and others. How much research did you do into the "black"version of our country's history? Not possible really given that those people didn't know how to write until the missionaries came in the 19th century, studied the languages and took the effort to put the languages on paper. So the present black generation cannot claim that words have been misspelt because their forebears didn't spell them in the first place! You should also be aware that the Vootrekkers were opening up and developing the country long before apartheid was invented; that only came in 1948 whereas the trekking around happened about 100 years earlier. Perhaps your views should be put where you think Mulder should put his!
Thabo, wrote
As I said before: Black people are indigenous inhabitants of Africa, and white people have no entitlement to Africa. If there is a dispute for territory between the Khoisans and Blacks, then it is not for white people to point those differences out! Leave the altercation to Africans, otherwise this will be seen as a case of whites trying to drive a wedge between Khoisans and Black people so that they could justify their existence in Africa when we all know they that whites are foreigners in Africa. Leave the matter to the Africans!
Cedric the Crow, wrote
We the San were here first but the took it now the blacks want to take it all but their one mistake is they cannot power share look at the rest of Africa tehy are bound to fail coz they are too greedy. They will loose their grip on the ruling pary eventually and we will all be equal. This new form of apartheid against the whites and teh coloureds will stop some time.
jerry, wrote
The Khoi-san were the first peoples to inhabit Southern africa, nomads who did not and still (given the chance) do not settle in anyone place. Genetically all Humans are linked to the Khoi as Humanity started in South africa a few thousand years ago and migrated across the world. Mulder is right, many areas of South Africa had no permanent communities and many of the land claims are from peole who took the land from others, i.e. the Khoi-san nomads. The 'white' settlers were in many areas the last settlers, in the East of the country where the Bantu tribes migrated then the 'whites' migrated the land belonged to peoples long lost. So who do you give thje land to? The last settlers, the one ones before or the ones before that............
ian, wrote
@Ali - you are the ignorant one. Do a bit of reearch on the movementof people. It is available on the internet and it IS NOT South African (Apartheid) originated but rather based in reality. Do a search for "Early Bantu migrations" you will see that the word Bantu refers to a language grouping that originated in and aorund Camerroon and moved down the Eastern flanks of Africa to Angola and across Central Africa to Kenya, Tanzania and then down the East Coast of Africa.
Dreamer, wrote
South Africa belongs to those who were born in it. Whether White, Black, Coloured and Asian. If you want land go look for it, buy it and call it yours. At the time Europeans arrived the were more advanced and realized how important land was. In return they gave Blacks and Coloureds the skills and infrastructure to move into the modern world. This was more valuable than money. Blacks this is your golden age, please dont be remembered for looting and rioting. Rather rise up above the past and create your own future. South Africa is a big place that we can all share. WIth 18 years of power all you can say is that we cant achieve because the Whites wont let us. Its a disgrace to have a government worse than Apartheid. No Vision.!
Hektor, wrote
@veeman, How is "crossing an ocean" excluding anyone from "claiming a portion of an continent"? Anyone, any nation had to move by foot, horse, wagon or ship to the place they on a certain stage did claim. There are several ways to legitimately claim ownership of land, but the "qualifiers"disqualifiers mentioned by some here are not part of it.
Ryan, wrote
I bought the land after 1994. so the idiotic ANC government can go jump in the lake if they think they will ever get a sniff of it. the land was not given to me nor did I lay claim to it by putting some poles out.
Anonymous, wrote
@ Anon 10:25. You speak of us living together & working together in harmony, but the sentence before that you said 'one settler, one bullet'. I don't think you want harmony, and according to history you might be a settler too. Does that saying also apply to you too?. I understand the need to distribute land, but you're all so angry about it you can't see straight. The mere mention of the topic and you all see red. How are we to address this if you guys can't control your anger and all you ever chant is 'go back to the sea'. Then in the next breathe you say we must work together. They say everyone originate from Africa, you all say it as well, then why when it suites you guys do you change history?. If we all come from here, then this is our home too. You can't say Africa is the home of all and then in the next breathe say that we're intruders. And if you want us to work with you, then please stop using these sayings of shooting us.
Anonymous, wrote
Maybe Lesotho should lay claim to parts of the Free State that the British took away from them and gave to the Free State Boers LOL.
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