Tuesday, 20 February 2018

Take back our forefathers land.


Image result for pictures of stolen lands in South africaSomething is brewing in South Africa, as good as its variety of ingredients, it is emitting an intoxicating smell. So many sober minded people are turning into drunkards daily as they continue to inhale this toxicating smell coming out of the brew.  The issue of Land is grabbing attention from all angles and the narrative points to an unfavourable direction. Land is sought at every angle but so far the hasn’t been any pointable action from the powers that be. The election of Cyril Ramaphosa at the 54th Conference of the ANC heralded a vigorous pursuit to the land issue and many, particularly black South Africans drank to the well as he (Ramaphosa) kept scoping out the contends.

Let me say up front, I support the idea of expropriation of land without compensation, even thou it goes against the prescripts of the constitution. However Ramaphosa should know that, those who took away the land wont give it back without a fight and definitely the will be casualties along the way to claiming that land. It will be naïve for the Government to talk expropriation of land without compensation on the same breath as without compromising the economy, food stability and marginalisation. South Africa must expect the economy to be shaken, food stability to be challenged and minorities to be marginalised as government expropriate land without compensation. But lets face it, those whites when they took our forefather’s land; they also ignored the economy, food stability and marginalisation. In fact they never cared at all, all they wanted was to grab as much land away as possible now why should we care?

When the apartheid regime in the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) sought the fertile land in the then Mashishing region, now known as Lydenburg, they pushed and shovel the swatis and Pedis people who had dwelled on that land for many years. The Swati and Pedi people had established themselves on those sprawling mountains of the bushveld. The formed small scale farming activities which were flourishing, their cattles and goats had ample fresh lands to grace, multiple water streams to drink from and a beautiful nature to enjoy. Those people were living among each other, as diverse as they were in peace and harmony until a white man arrived. Their economy was tossed aside, food provision destabilised and deeply marginalised by pushed and thrown into disarray. Those white men forcefully removed, uprooted from their land, chased down the bushveld escarpment my forefathers without any consideration or mercy.

Image result for pictures of stolen lands in South africa

The Marais, De Kocks, De suissas and their companions occupied that land without any shame. They settled on the land from the mountain top all the way down to what is known today as Motsepula. Those white farms in Motsepula are built on land stolen by force and violence from our grannies and no mercy was shown to them. Burgersfort and Steelpoort are two towns build on land stolen from my forefathers with impunity. President Cyril Ramaphosa I hear you when you say, we must expropriate land without compensation, but it should be done without endangering the economy, food stability and all, however it is going to be impossible sir. I don’t expect you to understand the humiliation and shame suffered by my forefathers, but again South Africans cannot be expected to play nice with the whites when they didn’t in the first place. They continue to occupy almost all the fertile huge land in our country while we the rightful owners and heir continue to live in squalor.

Lets move fast, expropriate land including Motsepula, Burgersfort and Steelpoort without compensation, then we can come back to worry about the economy, food stability, etc. we cannot continue to be subjects in our land, live at the mercy of our colonisers and beg from those who oppressed us. Black people who were chased violently away from their land in Mashishing, Motsepula, Burgersfort and Steelpoort expect it back. This government dare not disappoint the many South Africans, including these Swatis and Pedis, who placed their hopes and faith in its hands.

No comments:

Post a Comment