South African FM Vows Land Redistribution in Country to Be 'Legitimate, Fair'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The South African government will make sure that the land redistribution policy is "legitimate and constitutional," the South African foreign minister said on Thursday.

"The matter of land redistribution is before a parliamentary committee … We can assure everybody that it is a fair process… We will take every precaution to make sure that it is legitimate and constitutional," South African Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said during a lecture at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

READ MORE: South Africa's Parliamentary Committee Nods Land Seizure From White Farmers

The minister's comment comes as South Africa is considering a change to the constitution, which would allow land expropriation in public interest without compensation, to correct the situation where most private land is owned by the white minority due to the much earlier policies.

Last week, a parliamentary panel recommended amending the state constitution.

The public participation process took place earlier in 2018 to ensure that different views on the proposed reforms have been heard publicly.