19 June 2023 marked 110 years since the 1913 Natives Land Act was enacted in the then Union of South Africa. It prohibited natives from owning, leasing, or acquiring land. The Act was repealed in June 1991. The land question was at the heart of the South African national liberation struggle. The 1913 Natives Land Act restricted black people from owning and occupying parts of the country, leading to whites owning about 87% of the land. This reduced the African majority to “pariahs in the land of their birth”, in the 1916 words of Sol Plaatje, the founding secretary general of the African National Congress, now South Africa’s governing party. To reverse this injustice, in 2018 the national assembly acceded to demands from various pressure groups and began the process to amend section 25 of the constitution, which deals with restitution and redress of the dispossessed. Some had argued that the section hindered land expropriation. In this conversation, we reflect on how far the land question has been addressed in democratic South Africa as well as the legacy of the infamous legislation. Joining Morio Sanyane for the conversation is the Head of Land at AgriSA Amy Barclay along with the African Farmers Association of South Africa’s Pitso Sekhoto, and Member of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure Sanele Zondo.

19 June 2023 marked 110 years since the 1913 Natives Land Act was enacted in the then Union of South Africa. It prohibited natives from owning, leasing, or acquiring land. The Act was repealed in June 1991. The land question was at the heart of the South African national liberation struggle. The 1913 Natives Land Act restricted black people from owning and occupying parts of the country, leading to whites owning about 87% of the land. This reduced the African majority to “pariahs in the land of their birth”, in the 1916 words of Sol Plaatje, the founding secretary general of the African National Congress, now South Africa’s governing party. To reverse this injustice, in 2018 the national assembly acceded to demands from various pressure groups and began the process to amend section 25 of the constitution, which deals with restitution and redress of the dispossessed. Some had argued that the section hindered land expropriation. In this conversation, we reflect on how far the land question has been addressed in democratic South Africa as well as the legacy of the infamous legislation. Joining Morio Sanyane for the conversation is the Head of Land at AgriSA Amy Barclay along with the African Farmers Association of South Africa’s Pitso Sekhoto, and Member of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure Sanele Zondo.

POWER Talk is a mid-morning talk show programme, hosted by Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. The show delves deeper into the news of the day along with larger societal themes, inviting listeners to help unpack issues on the day’s current affairs agenda and topics close to their hearts. Ndlozi also interviews the biggest newsmakers and experts in South Africa, helping listeners make sense of their world.

POWER Talk is a mid-morning talk show programme, hosted by Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. The show delves deeper into the news of the day along with larger societal themes, inviting listeners to help unpack issues on the day&rsquo;s current affairs agenda and topics close to their hearts. Ndlozi also interviews the biggest newsmakers and experts in South Africa, helping listeners make sense of their world.

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