The Land Question

Okes. Hope I meet you all in good health? anyways... so I have finally plucked up the courage to write this rather unsettling political piece. You see, I’m a very political being- but being invested in debates and arguments that are centred in the idea of race. Mate- I have had little interest in all of that.

Unfortunately, recent events have been a stark reminder that we still have people who suffer from the stereotypical mentality that racial dissonance was designed to achieve in the first place

Just recently- I was called a ‘white messenger’ for saying we need to work with each other to find ways to ensure ‘equitable distribution of land to ALL present inhabitants.’ The Pile of Excrement!!! Of course I was tempted to swear and belittle his ignorant, insensitive and political illiterate self, and for having the audacity to show the world his reasoning capacity smaller to that of a nut!!! But I didn’t.

You see, the land question is another thing bedevilling race relations in this country. It really halts us from reaching racial integration, social unity and harmony. Every time the subject comes up, most people just show their lunacy.

It cannot be denied that most blacks in South Africa were dispossessed of their land through apartheid policies. And yes, white people did leave their ancestral land & came to brutally murder & harass black people in Africa. Our grandparents- parents, sisters and brothers, like animals- were assassinated- that issue CANNOT be taken blithely; its history- our heart-wrenching history and we will NEVER forget! And I'm ALL for people being compensated for wrongs done to them in the past.

Someone said- “The rights of the original owners are paramount and cannot be disputed.” And that is truer than the truth! The past few weeks I was in Sterkspruit, the sadness I felt when I saw places like Ugie, Indwe and Elliot with so much land, but with white predominance!! It was depressing, and even more heart wrenching when I saw black people squashed up at some filthy street corners, buried so deep in the vicious cycle of poverty that they don’t see a way out. The sight was even more despicable knowing that they demand ‘their’ land EVERY day, the land that will allow them to live in dignity. It made me think, ‘we haven’t risen up against our oppressors.’

You see, Black people were Promised Land in the run-up to the first election during 1994, and the government has the power to enforce the acquisition of the desired land to live up to that promise [and I’ll try and deviate from the fact that involved various government departments and institutions such as the Landbank fail to oversee this crucial matter. I’ll try!]- However, be that as it may, I find inhabiting 80% of it downright selfish!!

Yes- maybe whites have no claim to the land in this country but why dispossess one ethnic group in order to give to another? Do we really need to change the system to anarchy?

The issue is sensitive, but its matters we don't really comprehend that we solely approach with raw, primitive emotion. South Africa, you cannot rectify one mistake with another. And not occupying the rest of the country does not mean we don’t own the rest of it. We and I mean rational people of ALL races should determine how we could save our land. It shouldn’t be about "who was here first"-but better management of land than it is at present!

And to the bigots, racist remarks and the outrageous reading of history will not build- but break South Africa. We have, in a way or another- experienced the same prejudicial outlook on life, but we have also allowed our attitudinal ineptness and addled psychological prowess to be cleansed. That said, I hope you open your eyes and see all obstacles in your way.

And on a brighter note, I think the Land Tenure Security Bill is a pretty suave move.