The second session of day 1 of Nation in Conversation 2018 turned the spotlight onto Political Perspectives with host Professor Nick Binedell hosting a heavy-weight panel comprising of Cope Leader Mosiuoa Lekota, AfriForum's CEO Kallie Kriel, DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen, former Minister Roelf Meyer and Moeletsie Mbeki, a political analyst and business.
The second session was marked by a studio filled to over capacity, which could be seen as a sign of the times where political dialogue on land is ever more topical. It was also marked by passionate exchanges on the topic by both the panelists as well as the audience, with a member of the audience accusing the panel of being “frivolous.”
The mood of the discussion was immediately very diverse with Mbeki saying the ANC’s policy about land expropriation without compensation had nothing to do with land, “but was a way for the ANC to use white people as scapegoats and to score political votes. I am not worried in the slightest.”
This was met by a response from Kallie Kriel, who said “The comments made by the ANC and the reaction by Mr Mbeki is exactly the same scenario which resulted in the demise of Zimbabwe, which is why we have to take it seriously.”
Roelf upped the anti by saying that “As far as Mbeki might be right, I don’t think the land issue will go away before or after the election, because the land issue is linked to inequality and the inequality gap has actually increased.”
Mosiuoa Lekota said that the constitution was negotiated by all South Africans black and white and that all South Africans’ interests are protected by the constitution. “Section 25 and 26 of the constitution deals with the land issue effectively and it should not be changed.”
John Steenhuisen added that “The argri-sector has taken a massive battering with drought, unemployment and what’s made it worse is very poor policy which has created a massive sense of uncertainty.”
The live-streamed broadcast went way over its time following robust interaction through questions from the audience.
For the full episode of this enlightening discussion please visit the Nation in Conversation website at
www.nationinconversation.co.za to view the full broadcast schedule.