Court becomes last line of defence

A view of the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town. Picture: iStock A fair assessment of the way the ANC ran this country from 1994 is that it ignored pressing social issues until given a nudge by outside forces into the realisation that its inaction could cost it heavily at the ballot box. The two best examples are illegal migration and land.

It took the March and March movement – and the realisation by the ANC that there was great support among ordinary people for that campaign – for the party to start tackling some it had ignored. Ditto with the land question: It was only when organisations like the EFF started making it the main plank of their own strategy that the ANC was forced to take stock. It was, by then, too late to revive the “willing seller, will buyer” process which, had it been started in 1994 could have seen huge amounts of formerly white-owned land transferred, along with government financial support for enterprises on that land.

Playing catch up with the land question was the reason for theExpropriation Billwhich, understandably, is scaring many people. That’s why we welcome the fact that the matter goes before theWestern Cape High Courtin Cape Town today. Our judges are our last line of defence against capricious and unconstitutional laws.