The excitement that is espoused by our people with regard to the land question must never supersede the sensitivity of this issue. If the issue of the land is not approached with the care it deserves, we might find ourselves regretting our actions.
There is this tendency of some political parties to politicise this emotive issue in order for them to gain political mileage. I do understand that land was dispossessed from the majority of black people through conquest and violence that led us to be where we are today, but using the same strategy of applying a racial divide is not going to help.
We need to take into confidence and allay the fears of those who might feel attacked by the whole processes of amending section 25 of the constitution. In SA, whenever the land question is mentioned, one tends to think about white farmers as perpetrators of the dispossession of the land, while the majority of us do not see the important role those farmers play in terms of feeding our nation and growing the GDP.
Having said that, I am not supporting any exploitation of farmworkers, nor am I supporting farm killings.
Phillip Maponya, Jerusalem informal settlement
We must approach the land issue with care
The excitement that is espoused by our people with regard to the land question must never supersede the sensitivity of this issue. If the issue of the land is not approached with the care it deserves, we might find ourselves regretting our actions.
There is this tendency of some political parties to politicise this emotive issue in order for them to gain political mileage. I do understand that land was dispossessed from the majority of black people through conquest and violence that led us to be where we are today, but using the same strategy of applying a racial divide is not going to help.
We need to take into confidence and allay the fears of those who might feel attacked by the whole processes of amending section 25 of the constitution. In SA, whenever the land question is mentioned, one tends to think about white farmers as perpetrators of the dispossession of the land, while the majority of us do not see the important role those farmers play in terms of feeding our nation and growing the GDP.
Having said that, I am not supporting any exploitation of farmworkers, nor am I supporting farm killings.
Phillip Maponya, Jerusalem informal settlement