South Africa's New President And The Land Question In The New Dawn

In his first state address a few weeks ago, South Africa's new president Cyril Ramaphosa told the world his takeover was a new dawn. After years of mismanagement, corruption and the patronage politics of Jacob Zuma, many South Africans were relieved when the African National Congress (ANC) finally forced him out of the country's top leadership. From scandal to scandal, Zuma looked like he would never go, but finally, Ramaphosa took charge on February 13.

Many received the news with cautious optimism and wondered what that new dawn would look like for the country. Just barely a month in office, in the face of high unemployment, the land question has become the issue that the president is looking to tackle.

The author looks into the policy of expropriation of land from white South Africans without compensation. "Expropriation is now a policy of the ANC, and after the vote in Parliament in favor of the Economic Freedom Front's (EFF) motion to amend the Constitution, the policy is fast becoming the keystone of South Africa's new dawn."

It is yet another manifestation that the land question, just like many others, was never resolved and no one expected it to be resolved right away after apartheid ended. However, the ANC has failed to deliver in the eyes of a majority of black South Africans—hence the growing of leftist solutions, riding on the wave of populism. The writer looks at which road the new dawn will take and what that means for those who are on the margins. There are varying opinions on how the economic and land questions should be tackled. It is an interesting look at how President Ramaphosa, one of South Africa's richest persons, is moving left.