Johannesburg - The issue of land restitution could be revisited in the interests of socio-economic equality, President Jacob Zuma said on Monday.
“Never shall we allow a situation where that issue will result in chaos,” he said in an interview on CNBC Africa's Political Exchange.
However, the issue could not be ignored either as 2013 marked a century since the introduction of the implementation of the Land Act, which deprived black South Africans of the land and cattle that formed the basis of their livelihood.
Zuma said he felt the law dealing with land restitution was “biased against claimants” and he had come to realise that “even the crafting of the law was biased”.
Zuma said the Constitution allowed the government to take action to speed up the restitution process.
“But we are not going to wake up one day and say take this farm... It must deal with the needs of the country.”
Zuma said the response of white farmers had been encouraging, as many had showed their willingness to discuss the issue and were eager to help emerging farmers.
On the matter of the National Health Insurance scheme, Zuma said progress was being made, with the Health Department working towards its implementation.
“It would be wrong to have a country like South Africa where a huge majority die because they can't medically be attended to, while the minority live long because they have the means.”
Zuma said advances in education were starting to bear fruit, as “results are beginning to rise”.
Unless teachers delivered on “non-negotiables” it might be necessary to re-establish an education inspectorate. If inspectors were re-introduced, the system would be different from the one used during apartheid, which often had a political agenda. - Sapa