'SA cannot stay silent on land theft'

DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile has drawn a firm line on the unresolved land situation, declaring that the government will not be intimidated into silence as it pressed ahead with expropriation to redress centuries of dispossession, transform the economy and reduce deepening inequality.

- KAMOGELO MOICHELA

Speaking recently at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa gala dinner at the Rustenburg Civic Centre in North West, Mashatile framed land reform as a moral, constitutional and economic imperative, rooted in the country's painful history.

He said the government acknowledged "the painful history of land dispossession and the ongoing struggles many South Africans face,’ stressing that silence was no longer an option.

“As a church, we cannot remain silent while these injustices persist. We should not allow the false narrative about our efforts to create balance to deter us from achieving our objectives,” he said.

His remarks come amid heightened political tensions over land reform, following lobbying trips to the US by AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement.

The organisations have claimed that the South African government is targeting minority communities, particularly white farmers assertions repeatedly rejected by the state as misleading and harmful.