Hon Chairperson, the horrific past of the 1913 Natives Land Act undoubtedly led the broad, suffering masses to the fires of hell. The word "native", used as an adjective qualifying "land" was a misnomer because native means "aborigine"; that is, a person born and brought up in a particular place. The problem is that those who used it did not know the etymological meaning thereof.
The Natives Land Act issue is a very sensitive one. Land is a critical issue. It is key to economic empowerment. The imbalances that were created in 1913 have to be reversed and we must be bold about it. The Minority Front, MF, welcomes the reopening of the restitution of land claims process and we congratulate the ANC government for being sensitive to a very specific claim of a particular community - the Khoisan. [Applause.]
This shows that the President that governs understands deeply the issues affecting communities and provides opportunity for redress. Of course, the Indian community was also a major victim of the Group Areas Act. Forced removals demoralised the lifestyles of all black people, particularly South Africans of African and Indian origin. The hard truth is that people were pushed out of all flat and fertile land to the worst pieces of land. The best land was kept for the historically advantaged, and this is something we need to deal with.
In rural townships, land was utilised as dumpsites, making it extremely difficult to erect strong buildings. The willing-buyer, willing-seller concept was hugely problematic. When a black person went to buy a piece of land in a white suburb, automatically the price went up by 300%. This new Act mentions "just and equitable compensation", which the MF supports. The good thing is that expropriation will happen and one can take as long as they want fighting in court for the amounts. It will be very interesting to analyse the landowners of the hon members of the DA. Sometimes they criticise from a comfort zone, talking about productivity. But how did they and their families acquire the land? What was the history of the acquisition of ownership? [Applause.] You can't sit and benefit from those historic privileges and want to be judgemental about other issues. Quite frankly, this is nonsensical and the DA should go and tell that to the birds in the sky! [Applause.]
We should strive to achieve a timeframe within which every family owns their own piece of land, and that should be the ultimate goal. The MF cherishes the hope of a 2030 vision. When a family owns a piece of land, it is tremendously empowering to economic development. It contributes to stability and cohesion. People can develop their own piece of land with pride and joy.
As we strive to continue to build a nonracial South Africa, let us do so with honesty and integrity if we are deadly serious about addressing the atrocities of the past. We also want to congratulate the Chief Whip and the Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party on their appointment. I thank you. [Applause.]