ANC Provincial Chairperson Enoch Godongwana has confirmed that the ANC NEC “will initiate amendments” for land redistribution in South Africa.

The news is one of the standout events of the ANC Conference, and acknowledges the decades of suffering black citizens have faced at the hands of apartheid. Godongwana was addressing the media about party plans for Economic Transformation.

He confirmed that delegates in the NEC had resolved to pursue the possibility of expropriating land “without compensation”:

BREAKING; ANC Economic Transformation Commission chair Enoch Godongwana says #ANC54 conference has ‘agreed that NEC will initiate some amendments to section 25 to acheive expropriation (of land) without compensation. But it must be sustainable’ — Thulasizwe Simelane (@ThulasSims) December 20, 2017

#ANC54 Godongwana says conference has resolved that the NEC will initiate amendments to have land expropriation without compensation. — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) December 20, 2017

Should the ANC adopt the policy, they will have to gain Parliamentary approval first. They would need to gain a two-thirds majority of support for the policy to be written into law. It follows news earlier today that land redistribution was an issue on the cards, but would be dealt with at a local level.

However, Enoch Godongwana’s announcement confirms that there is a majority of ANC personnel who now want to pursue land redistribution in a pro-active manner.

There are caveats to the decision, of course. The Provincial Chairperson and executive member of Economic Transformation committee confirmed nothing would be put in place ‘unless it was sustainable’.

“There would be no timeline in the process of the redistribution of land, which needs to be tested for its sustainability. It must be sustainable. It must not affect food security and other economic sectors.”

Should this policy see the light of day, it would be one of the most divisive changes to South Africa in its modern democracy. In more ways than one, the landscape of this country could soon be about to change radically.