By Celani Sikhakhane
- Moeletsi Mbeki says people wanting ancestral land back must consider war like colonisers did.
- He warns that taking commercial farms threatens food security for 68% of urban South Africans.
Former president Thabo Mbeki’s brother says that those who want their ancestral land back must go to war like the colonisers did.
Moeletsi Mbeki was speaking at a talk organised by the Xubera Institute for Research and Development in Hillcrest, west of Durban, last Friday.
He says the fact that the land was taken over 100 years ago makes it clear that, without being sarcastic, none of the current generation will be able to get their ancestral land back because it is now being lived on by other people who never stole anyone’s land.
Mbeki believes that taking land without paying for it is a threat to food security.
“Look, my ancestral land is in Bergville near Drakensberg. Our ancestors, who were AmaZizi, refused to bow to the Zulu kingdom under King Shaka, and he chased them away with a spear. Our ancestors were then pushed to the Eastern Cape.
“That land is now occupied by the Dlaminis, which means if I come back and want to claim it back, how am I going to remove those people because it’s their land now? It can only happen if I take guns and go to war for that land to be returned. This is the worst scenario that can make anyone who wants land get it back,” said Mbeki.
Mbeki said 68% of South Africans live in cities and depend on commercial farmers for food security.
He says if the government takes land from the present commercial farmers and gives it to “my brother’s family there”, they won’t be able to produce enough to feed the population.
Mbeki says black people haven’t got the money, they haven’t got the skills, and they haven’t got all the things that are needed to be able to run a working commercial farm in South Africa today. He says this is the reality the country has to live with.
He also talked about the issues of the economy and said that South Africa has one problem, and it must not listen to Donald Trump.
Mbeki says the country’s problem is the economy. He pointed out the minerals sector as showing a clear picture of the economy’s failure.
“If you own an asset, and you have a threat of your assets being seized without compensation, what will you do? You invest as little as possible just to keep your business ticking,” Mbeki said.
Pictured above: Moeletsi Mbeki says that the land expropriation without compensation is a threat to food security.
Image source: @PhumlaniMMajozi
