Politics will hijack EWC and black people will be the main victims. The situation in Alexandra township clearly demonstrates what happens when politicians use land as an election tool.
Spokespeople from Alex residents associations will tell their story and explain why:
“It must never again be possible for any present or future government in any form or at any level to expropriate land or other property from black people without full and fair compensation.”
APOR Chairman Vakele Richard Mbalukwana
Background:
Alexandra Property Owners’ rights (APOR) and Alexandra Land and Property Owners’ Association (ALPOA) demand action for restitution of their property expropriated without compensation in 1986 under apartheid.
Despite various commitments to return expropriated property, former owners remain non-consenting government tenants. They have received neither their land nor compensation. Dispossession did not die with apartheid and Alex Property Owners are still fighting for their land or compensation 26 years into “non-racial” democracy. Politics triumphed over people.
Speakers: APOR Chairman: Vakele Richard Mbalukwana; FMF Executive Director: Leon Louw
Leon Louw and the FMF through the Law Review Project have worked for 30 years to resolve the conflict and land claims in Alexandra township. In 2016, the FMF, APOR and ALPOA believed an agreement (for claimants to choose between restitution and compensation) had finally been reached. The Statement of Intent was signed by all parties, including the Johannesburg municipality. But this has never been honoured. Without clear political will to restore land title, dispossessed black people will remain victims. To reinstate the power to expropriate without compensation will return black people to what they endured under apartheid.
Opportunity to interview and photograph speakers and Alex township residents contact FMF media office below.
WEDNESDAY, 23 January 2019
11h00 – 11h30 Registration (sandwiches, tea & coffee will be available)
11h30 – 13h30 Presentation & discussion
Venue
Free Market Foundation, Block 5 Bryanston Gate, 170 Curzon Road, Bryanston (opposite Sandton Medi-Clinic)
Entrance free
RSVP by clicking on http://www.freemarketfoundation.com/View-Event?i=202 – NB please register each attendee separately
Guests welcome
(If you cannot join us, no need to RSVP)
You will be able to watch this event LIVE via the FMF’s Facebook page by clicking this
link: https://www.facebook.com/FMFSA/
Once on the FMF Facebook page, please scroll down until you find the presentation live streaming. Please note: the video remains available on Facebook after the event (though you will need to scroll down further to find it). OR you can watch it on our YouTube channel – usually uploaded within a day or two: https://www.youtube.com/user/channelfmf
