Proper land reform needed - Nkwinti
2012-11-06 11:15
Johannesburg - The ramifications of the Natives Land Act of 1913 should be reversed in a just and constitutional manner in order to maintain stability in South Africa, Rural Development Minister Gugile Nkwinti said on Tuesday.
If the issue of land in the country was not resolved, everything else would fall apart, Nkwinti told a New Age business breakfast in Johannesburg.
"Land doesn't grow, people grow, and just and equitable redistribution is needed to reach peace," he said.
Nwinti said there was currently "creative tension" among South Africans because the subject of land was not settled, and he blamed this on "the past".
In order to move forward, "just and constitutional means" were needed.
He said there were problems relating to land in the country, including a growing population.
To reverse this there would have to be corrective measures, including the relocating of people.
"People think the idea of reversing this is naive, but it has to be done."
Nwinti said mass concentration of ownership of land, which was unjust, also had to be reviewed.
He said there should be a focus on the conditions for state-owned land, privately-owned land, and foreign-owned land.
- SAPA
