The ruling ANCs highest decision-making body is on Sunday discussing policy ideas which include a proposal that farmers be asked to donate land to black emerging farmers.

The Sunday Times reported that the party in its policy discussion documents wants a new route towards land redistribution that will see farmers donate land instead of the 2017 resolution which sought land expropriation without compensation.

Last year, the party failed to pass their land expropriation without compensation bill in parliament after it could not convince the EFF to agree to the amendment of section 25 of the constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

The stumbling block was the insistence of the EFF to have the state as the overall custodian of land.

The Sunday Times reported that the ANC in the discussion paper, titled “Strengthening Economic Recovery and Reconstruction to Build an Inclusive Economy”, now appears to have closed the door on any future attempts at expropriation of land without compensation, stressing instead the importance of a viable and job-creating agricultural sector.

The party proposes the land reform and agricultural development agency — an entity being set up by the department of land affairs and agriculture  — be given more powers.

The party is also expected to discuss another policy document which wants the country to consider exploring its own crude oil and gas deposits offshore in a bid to protect South Africans from rising fuel prices.

This comes as the rest of the world is feeling the pinch from rising oil and gas prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions brought about by most Western countries. 

Another discussion on policy, as reported by the Sunday Times, is about the reconfiguration of the state-owned entities.

It said the party wants its members to discuss which SOEs it wants to keep, merge or privatise.

This comes on the back of battling SOEs like state arms manufacturing company Denel, the SA Post Office, Prasa and Transnet. 

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