“My white South African friends who wish to comment on this week’s decision of Parliament to investigate possibly changing the Constitution to expedite land expropriation without compensation, please remember that this is not the first time the South African government has taken land without paying for it. In fact, it’s at least the fifteenth time the government of South Africa has passed laws to take land. I provide a list below for helpful reference – these were the apartheid era land acts.
Please do us a favour: if your ancestors did not comment about the previous fifteen times the government took land (and I am guessing that, like mine, they did not), then right now would be a good time to be quiet for a bit and listen.
Not forever. Just for a bit. And then calmly contribute to the conversation over the next few weeks and months in an attempt to find a solution that helps everyone.
Also, before you comment on the issue, please read the preamble of the motion put to Parliament this week and tell us how you respond to the fact that the government land audit has found that less than 7% of land in South Africa is owned by private black individuals. No, seriously, please start any comments on this issue with your thoughts and feelings on that statistic.
Now, here is that list I was speaking about – white people, let’s own this a bit please; the government of SA has been taking land for a long time; you just don’t it like it this time because for the first time its not white skinned people doing the taking:
– The Glen Grey act of 1894 (Under Cecil John Rhodes)
– The Native Land Act of 1913 (Act 27)
– The Transvaal Asiatic Land Tenure of 1930.
– The Riotous Assemblies Act 19 – 1930.
– The Asiatic Immigration Amendment Act of 1931.
– The Native Service Contracts Act of 1932.
– The Native Trust and Land Act of 1936 (Act 18)
– The Slums Act of 1934.
– The Development Trust and Land Act of 1936 (Act 18)
– The Rural Dealers Licensing Act of 1935.
– The Representation of Blacks Act 12 of 1936.
– The Black (Native) Laws Amendment Act 46 of 1937
– The Pegging Act of 1946
– The group areas act of 1950 (Act. 41)
And PS, for those who always moan about “how far back do we have to go”, all but the first two of these Acts were passed in my grandmother’s lifetime. She was born in Feb 1914. And she’s still alive. So, no, this isn’t going back too far.
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