Durban — The Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA (Contralesa) has issued a warning to the government to expedite the land expropriation without a compensation programme – or face land grabs.
Provincial chairperson of Contralesa iNkosi Thulasizwe Ngcobo, in Durban on Wednesday, said the land issue would be at the top of their agenda at the imbizo this weekend.
Ngcobo said rural communities who were dispossessed of their land by colonialists and imperialists and were banking on the government’s land expropriation without compensation bill to get their land back, were angry and losing patience.
“We want to warn government that if it does not come up with tangible programmes to fast-track land return to the rightful owners, things will get out of hand and people will start invading farms that were taken by force through colonial and apartheid laws,” Ngcobo said.
Contralesa’s sentiments were shared by Abantu Batho Congress leader Philani Mavundla, whose national leadership jointly addressed the media with the amakhosi body.
Mavundla said his party supported the return of land to its rightful black owners and would join the amakhosi imbizo to contribute to the discussion.
Ngcobo said another key issue on their agenda was provincial cities, which he said had been captured by foreigners. Ngcobo said black local communities were angry there were streets in cities like Durban that they could no longer access because foreigners had occupied them.
Ngcobo claimed the Point area in South Beach resembled a foreign town because the area was populated by foreigners.
Ngcobo further called on the government to audit all foreigners living in the country to know whether all of them were refugees, adding those who did not have refugee status were not supposed to be in the country.
“We are not buying the narrative that foreigners helped us by taking us as refugees in their own country during the struggle for freedom because we know that none of those who were kept in the camps in foreign countries had shops all over the country. We also want to remind those who were exiled and claimed that they fought for this country that we do not know their battlefield, so whether you were in exile or inside the country the treatment should be the same,” Ngcobo said.
Another topic to be discussed at the imbizo were rates in rural communities under eThekwini that were mooted by mayor Mxolisi Kaunda a few weeks ago.
Contralesa and Mavundla, who is also the eThekwini deputy mayor, voiced their disagreement with the proposal. Mavundla said the city should start collecting rates from the hostel and informal settlements first before moving to the people in the rural areas.
Daily News