[WATCH] DA: Land expropriation would plunge SA into crisis

DA leader Mmusi Maimane briefed the media on land reform in Johannesburg on Monday.

The National Assembly recently set in motion a process to amend the Constitution so as to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

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Maimane believes expropriation, a policy supported by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), will only ensure that the poor become poorer. 

"The model pursued by the EFF would strip all property owners of their property. White and black South Africans alike would lose everything. Homeowners would be stripped of their homes, business owners of their businesses, innovators of their intellectual property, and more." 

Maimane says amending the Constitution, to allow the state to become the custodian of all land, would plunge South Africa into a deep, irreversible crisis. 

"We do not believe that any government should be given this power. And once the government has this power, it will very difficult to ever take it away. Even if some people think that (President) Cyril Ramaphosa's government will handle this power responsibly. The Constitution should protect citizens against all possible future governments." 

Maimane say a DA government will seek to redress the legacy of apartheid by ensuring black South Africans have the opportunity to be owners of both agricultural and urban land without the need to amend the Constitution.