By Pastor Enoch F Phiri 

South Africa is at a crossroad yet again. The unfished business of the transition to a democratic nation have caught up with us and we can no longer hide. 

The conversations and decisions we are making today have the potential to change the future of our nation for better or worse. It is no longer just conversations of the ruling elite that matters now, but those of every South African. 

This was clearly demonstrated when an individual in Durban expressed her thoughts about holiday makers in Durban. What began as Penny Sparrow’s views and perhaps a reflection of conversations she may have been having with her friends, opened a cane of worms and has forced the whole nation to face the reality that we have never really dealt with all issues coming to this new dispensation.

We got caught up with the euphoria of a new democracy, the international attention we received and we were under the Madiba magic that we did not pay attention to details of the agreement that was reached. 

It is for that reason I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this discourse, to share my thoughts around the subject at the heart of tension in the nation, the land and economic transformation subject.

Does South Africa need land redistribution? 

South Africa is a beautiful country. This  country is well endowed with gold, silver, diamonds and many other minerals. The land of South Africa is fertile and has such diverse weather patterns that should make us as a nation to have food security and also not lacking in mineral resources. However, this is not the case as we all know. The land of South Africa that endowed with minerals does not unfortunately benefit the majority of the people of the land. South Africa has amongst the highest income inequality gaps in the world. Since the dawn of democracy we have seen the country’s economy rise but with very little impact on the lives of the majority of the land. And we are now at the point where we cannot just hope the situation will resolve itself as the economy grows but its time to speak and all of us to take responsibility to contribute to this dialogue of land and economic transformation.

Since 1994 we have adopted many policies aimed at addressing the subject of economic transformation. We started with RDP(Reconstruction and Development Programme), the GEAR ( Growth, employment and redistribution) ASGISA( Accelerated ) until we ended up with the National Development Plan and now are talking Radical Economic Transformation. All these powerfully articulated policies failed to archive their intended goals. While there are many issues surrounding policy implementation such as lack of capacity, I believe the policies would have come short of transforming the economy were aimed economic transformation that is entirely disconnected to the subject of land.

Why Land? – Biblical Lessons

I would like to refer to the bible, as we all know it is not just a Holy book but the bible is in fact, a historical record of true events of how God dealt with nations on many subjects. One of the subjects that is clearly close to God’s heart is the subject of land. 

Whenever God wanted to free people from bondage he promised them land. This was the case when he delivered the children of Israel from Egypt which at the time was an economic super power.  Exodus

Whenever God promised to restore a people, he promised them land. This was the case when the children of Israel were in exile. He spoke through the words of Prophet Jeremiah when the land had been destroyed and city of Jerusalem destroyed that He will redeem them from captivity and restore the land back to them. 

God also warned the children of Israel not to covert the land He had given to other nations. He set boundaries for the Iand he was giving to Israel, to ensure they knew clearly what was their portion anything beyond that was pure ambition and perhaps greed. Everyone was meant to sit under their own vine and fig tree.

What the bible also teaches us is that in His wisdom God knew that people being people would be led by their ambitions and in dealing with each other, some will lose their lands and become slaves. 

Even if the slaves brought it on themselves by whatever reason, God did not intend for anyone to die in the state of slavery and bondage. He gave laws that every seven years slaves must be released and their debts be written off. He gave provision for people to start afresh every seven years. But His generosity didn’t end there, He also made provision that those who may have lost or sold their land should recover it at the end of 49 years. This meant in every generation, each family would be given an opportunity to start again on the land of their forefathers. If parents had lost it because of bad fortunes, the children stood a chance to recover the land and rebuild. 

Why would God see it fit to put such laws in place? Why would he not want people to rot in jail as we often say? He reminded the children of Israel of how he took them out of bondage in Egypt. His compassion and love is with those who are oppressed. God does not desire to see the people He created rot, because every person is made in his image and He has put treasure in each person and He desires to see people fulfil purpose. And he knows that the basic human need of shelter means there must be land upon which this shelter can be built. So to God, land is just a starter pack to life.

What went wrong in Africa?

If we remember the story of the Exodus, after Moses had come to Pharoah a number of times Pharoah refused to let the children of Israel go. But after he came under pressure when God had confronted Him with a number of plagues, he began to agree to let Israel go but he wanted to keep their wealth and their children and therefore grant them partial freedom. Many Israelites at that stage were ready to accept any deal from Pharoah just to get some relief from their hard labour he had put them under. And I believe that is what we did in our country, we accepted partial liberation. We agreed to leave our wealth and our children behind. And today we have an opportunity to reflect with the benefit of hindsight to come back to the negotiating table, this time to negotiate true liberation. 

After world war II when it became clear that the colonial projects in Africa were no longer sustainable and that nations needed to be liberated, the Pharoah spirit rose up in the nations. The colonisers began to device strategies to ensure that Africa would just receive partial liberation.

Negative effects of not adhearing to the land redistribution call.

In Jeremiah 34:8-22, the children of Israel were now settled in the land and were in charge, however they refused to proclaim liberty to their slaves. The bible says they were proclaimed freedom and changed their minds. When God saw how they changed their minds concerting liberation of the poor, how they came up with new plots to enslave them again, he said:

“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord — ‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.’”

When they refused to grant liberty and restore people, God now gives them over the sword, to pestilence and to famine. This does suggest to us that violence is deeply connected to the subject of restoration. When people are dispossessed of land and its minerals that suppose to feed them, violence become a norm of society.

So what must be done? 

Civil Society represented here and elsewhere must wrestle the initiative from the politicians in leading the land debate because of the biblical calling about the issue of land.  It is clear that after 23 years of democracy the politicians have failed the people on a matter so crucial on a matter so deeply spiritual as land. The failure to resolve this matter also reflects badly on the faith communities and it is clear that we have been found wanting and slumbering allowing the issue of land to now become the next political football ahead of the next elections. Neither the extreme of rampant and disorderly land occupation or the continuation of a land policy that has clearly faiked will move our nation forward. 

The sudden change of approach by the ANC on the issue of land while I welcome it but must be approached with caution. Suddenly there is a willingness to look at a radical approach to the issue of land. We need to ask ourselves why?  The answer seems quite simple to me – once again the hopes of our people are being toyed with - something that we as the faith community have a responsibility to resist.

I believe that the nation must pray for a sustainable solution for the resolution of the land question. But must also do something to bring the nation together in  a ‘land CODESA’ to ensure that the resolution of the land question can bring our communities together and not leave them assunder. Is this even possible? This answer must be found following a thorough national dialogue and soul searching about how the dispossession of land must be reversed the same way that God envisaged for his Children in the scriptures. Until we face this dilemma the land question will remain a hindrance to true liberation. The Church must take leadership to steer the nation in this dialogue for the sake of the future of our country.

The land code sa must in my view deal with the following questions:

1. Should our constitution be changed to allow appropriation of land without compensation?
2. How will the government fast track the land distribution and support those who will receive their land back given the failure to meet its own targets for land redistribution?
3. How will the change of policy on land be balanced with the needs for nation-building, reconciliation and economic freedom? We cannot be blind to the collapse of social cohesion and any solutions that do not think ahead will result in the disaster that the 1994 settlement sought to avoid after centuries of conflict through colonialism and apartheid

May the good Lord guide us as we grapple with one of the most fundamental questions facing our nation. 

Pastor Enoch F Phiri is a founding Pastor of Restoration House in Protea Glen, Soweto.

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