ANC willing to consider the concerns raised by its GNU partners on Expropriation Act.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

The African National Congress (ANC) has expressed its willingness to engage with the Democratic Alliance (DA) amid a dispute over the signing of the Expropriation Bill into law.

ANC is currently holding its Lekgotla this weekend at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, East of Johannesburg.

This is their second since the Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed.

The ANC was forced to form a unity government last year after it failed to secure enough parliamentary seats to govern alone.

The DA claims the Bill was signed into law despite a legal opinion from DA minister Dean Macpherson showing it did not pass constitutional muster.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday signed into law the Expropriation Bill, which the Presidency explained on Thursday was the result of a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation. 

The law enables the government to expropriate land in the public interest for various purposes, which the ANC says will help promote inclusivity and address land issues affecting marginalised communities.

The DA has also raised objections to other legislation, including the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, signed into law before the GNU agreement.  

Mbalula said while the ANC remained firm on its policies, the party will consider the concerns raised by its GNU partners. 

“So we will be ready to engage with anyone who wants us to come to the roundtable. I will surely talk to Helen Zille [DA Federal Council Chairperson] but from where I’m seated, I don’t have problems.

“So we’ll engage whenever it is necessary to do so.

“We are open to do that. We have committed ourselves when we face difficulties and political parties have difficulties in the GNU in relation  to matters including expropriation. We will meet and talk about those issues.

“This is what is important. We have not outmaneuvered the DA. The point is that they have outmaneuvered themselves because they know that our legislation has been processed.

“We got into this election. The president signed NHI before GNU, isn’t it? Yes, signed NHI before GNU and then he signed the BELA Act after. After it has undergone all the processes, now the expropriation.

“So the DA should have known and they did not say to us in the statement of intent all the bills that we disagreed with, you must start them afresh,” says Mbalula.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the third largest party in the coalition government, has also raised objections to the signing of the expropriation bill into law.

Ramaphosa says the ANC will not deviate from its mission to advance the interests of the majority of South Africans, even as it forms part of the GNU.

He urged those who have expressed concerns that the ANC’s agenda will be diluted by its participation in the GNU, to judge the party by its actions.

Even in the government of national unity we have a clear obligation and task to implement policies, decisions and measures that seek to advance the National Democratic Revolution, and more importantly to advance the interests of the people through the various decisions that we have taken. We will continue to take actions, be they related to health be they related to the issue of land.”

Ramaphosa also warned the ANC that it is at risk of perishing, saying the party needs to regain the trust of citizens.

“It has become increasingly clear that the ANC has lost the trust of our people, of which the loss was clearly manifested through our weakened electoral outcomes. We need to take urgent and focused action to regain the trust that we have lost.”

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