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20 July 2018 Photo iStock
Speaking about the politics of land reform at UFS Thought-Leader Series on 26 July 2018
The road to land reform is paved with politics which are to be analysed by South African political parties at the fourth panel discussion in the UFS Thought-Leader Series on 26 July 2018.

Representatives of South African political parties are expected to descend upon the University of the Free State (UFS) to field conversations and shed light on the politics of land reform. As part of the UFS inaugural Thought-Leader Series, the fourth panel discussion is due to take place at the Bloemfontein Campus on 26 July 2018.

Standpoints by the African National Congress (ANC), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Democratic Alliance (DA), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and the Congress of the People (COPE) are expected to be shared by the panellists. Lynette Francis, presenter and producer of the daily news and actuality talk show Praat Saam on Radio Sonder Grense (RSG) and anchor of Fokus on SABC 2, will facilitate the discussions.

Representing the DA will be Annette Steyn, who serves as the party’s shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Wouter Wessels, a member of the National Assembly and former office-bearer in the Free State Provincial Legislature, will share the FF+ stance on land reform. Also among the representatives will be Jeremy Cronin, Deputy Minister of Public Works in the ANC, former Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), and former lecturer at the University of Cape Town as well as Mosiuoa Lekota, President and Leader of the Congress of the People (COPE).

Intersections between land and governance
At the dawn of the democratic dispensation in 1994, the ANC developed a programme for land reform to settle the disparity resulting from the Land Act of 1913. Earlier this year, the ANC and the EFF made a joint call for land expropriation without compensation in Parliament. Since then, the land reform question has been on the forefront of national discourse.

An ad hoc Constitutional Review Committee, comprising different political parties, was subsequently established to carry out the duty of amending Section 25 and other clauses to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation. The committee was tasked with collecting recommendations on the issue from ordinary South Africans, policy-makers, civil society organisations, and academics, while adhering to a 30 August 2018 deadline.

In light of these current affairs, the university officially launched its inaugural Thought-Leader Series focusing on land reform on 12 July 2018, where three panels of industry role players and scholars from across the country exchanged views on human rights, organised agriculture, and food security within the land context.

The programme will commence as follows:

Date: Thursday 26 July 2018
Time: 09:30
Venue: Odeion Theatre, Bloemfontein Campus

For a recording of the 12 July 2018 inaugural UFS Thought-Leader Series, visit the UFS Livestream YouTube channel.

Related article:
Robust reform rhetoric shared at the inaugural UFS Thought-Leader Series (July 2018)

News Archive

Prof Jonathan Jansen steps down as UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector
2016-05-16

Statement by Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS (pdf)

Statement by Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson: UFS Council

Prof Jonathan Jansen will step down as Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS) on 31 August 2016.

He will take up an invitation as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in the USA in September 2016. The fellowship, which was awarded to him earlier this year, is an opportunity for him to further advance his career as an internationally renowned academic in education. Prof Jansen’s departure is a great loss for the university, but the Council accepts his decision to step down and pursue his academic career as well as other opportunities.

The Council is grateful for the vision and the inspirational leadership that Prof Jansen provided during his tenure at the UFS. He has led the university through difficult and complex times – from after the Reitz incident up until the recent student protest actions. He brought stability and respect for the university – nationally as well as internationally.

The Council appreciates Prof Jansen’s drive to further the academic performance and transformation of the UFS. To this end he was instrumental in the improvement of student success and graduation rates, the increase in the percentage of academic staff with doctoral qualifications, the increase in research outputs, the growth in staff diversity, and the growth in third-stream income.

Furthermore, Prof Jansen played a significant part in developing the UFS as a place where the embrace of diversity and the integration of the university provide a backdrop for academic excellence. Under his leadership, the UFS made great strides in fulfilling its social responsibility to serve the community. He was the right leader at the right time for the university.

On behalf of the Council and the entire university community, I thank him for his contributions as a capable, energetic and dedicated leader and wish him the best for his future.

Prof Jansen was appointed as Vice-Chancellor and Rector on 1 July 2009 and his term of office was extended for another five years by the Council on 1 July 2014. 

In the event that the position is not filled by the end of August 2016, Prof Nicky Morgan, current Vice-Rector: Operations at the UFS, will act as Vice-Chancellor and Rector. The Council will shortly start the process to appoint a successor through a national and international search.

Released by: Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Tel: +27(0)51 401 3422/2707 or +27(0)83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27(0)51 444 6393

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