Land & Environment

The shortest chapter in both The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act No. 200 of 1993 and the 1996 Constitution deals with traditional leadership.

This radical thesis was adopted in the ANC’s 54th National Conference in December 2017 and subsequently most vehemently motioned in the National Assembly by the opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

But this was not one of South Africa’s infamous “service delivery” protests. These protestors were villagers that were relocated from their communal land 17 years ago by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s largest platinum company.

Summary

The Monsanto-Bayer merger caps off three rounds of mega-mergers among global chemical corporations.  These companies are consolidating and jockeying for better control of their market share of bio-technologies, agricultural seeds and agricultural data.

1. Introduction

The first chapter “How the Land was Lost” serves more as the context and environment in which, against all economic and political odds, Alfred Mangena, Richard Msimang, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Nqcubu Poswayo and George Montsioa gained access to British law schools.

Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing has been on the cards for as long as the new government has been in. And nothing near targets have been met.

The atmosphere is highly charged in South Africa, with an overloaded and short-circuited political arena.

A solution seems to have been reached under which the local communities will form an association and collect money among themselves to do their own re-stocking (as they have done in the past) without the help of vampire-investors.

Earlier this month, the South African parliament voted for a motion to amend the constitution that will allow the government to expropriate private land (largely in the hands of white South Africans) without compensation.