Land Reform Minister says those opposing Expropriation Act are opposed to progress
Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso spoke at a public dialogue at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Tuesday, which is considering if the newly signed law can be used as a tool to achieve land justice.
Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mashable Nyhontsho addresses a discussion on land inequality and expropriation at the University of the Western Cape on 11 March 2025. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/EWN
CAPE TOWN - Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso said that people opposing the Land Expropriation Act were opposed to progress.
He spoke at a public dialogue at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Tuesday, which is considering if the newly signed law can be used as a tool to achieve land justice.
READ: Land and housing activists call for fair and equal distribution of land in SA
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the bill into law despite growing criticism.
Political parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and lobby group AfriForum have threatened to take government to court over the act.
Minister Nyhontso also denounced claims by US President Donald Trump that white farmers were being targeted in South Africa and their farms confiscated.
Nyhontso said that nothing could be further from the truth.
"When we say land first, we are not talking about land grabbing because land grabbing amounts to theft and theft is the modus operandi of settler colonialists. Settler colonialists can never be our teachers, we do not have to steal what is already ours."
He said the intention of the act was to redistribute land fairly for public purpose.