A surprising but potentially fruitful partnership has been formed between the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) of Northern KwaZulu-Natal and members of the Agricultural District Union (ADU) of KZN in an attempt to speed up land reform in the area Facilitated by the Dutch Reformed Church in Newcastle, cooperation between the two parties came about when they realised their conflicts over land matters during the past 14 years were not due to frustration with each other, but rather with the system that was stalling progress in the land reform process.
joint statement issued by Mangaliso Khubeka of LPM and Janie Kemp of ADU reads: “We have gained a new appreciation of each others’ situation and have decided to leave behind any race qualification.” “We are people with a specific situation and specific needs. Our specific common ground is ‘South Africa first’. Everything we do will be with the best interests of the country in mind.” K hubeka and Kemp added that their organisations also agreed that sustainable food production was in the best interests of the country and that both parties would strive to serve this goal.
acilitator Reverend Schalk Scott said that the LPM and ADU had committed themselves to working together to solve current and future problems hindering the successful conclusion of land reform processes in their region, even approaching KZN Land Affairs when necessary. C oncluding their joint statement, Khubeka and Kemp said that if it was possible that people as previously distant from each other as the LPM and the farmers could find each other and start a process of working together, as evident in the signing of the partnership deal, then there was much hope for the future of the country. – Lloyd Phillips
