South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), on Tuesday announced it will support the amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution to "explicitly" expropriate land without compensation.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said on late Tuesday night that his country faces many challenges, particularly the issue of land expropriation.

"On land reform, the ANC applauds our people, from all walks of life - including the rural poor, farm labourers, the unemployed, the landless, urban residents, farmers and traditional leaders - for expressing their views on this critical matter."

"Our people have been expressing their views on the land question openly and without any fear or favour," said Ramaphosa. It had become "patently clear that our people want the Constitution to be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation, as demonstrated in the public hearings."

He stated that "a comprehensive land reform programme that enables equitable access to land will unlock economic growth, by bringing more land in South Africa to full use, and enable the productive participation of millions more South Africans in the economy."

Accordingly, the ANC will through the parliamentary process to finalize a proposed amendment to the Constitution that outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be affected.

"The intention of this proposed amendment is to promote redress, advance economic development, increase agricultural production and food security. It will also transform the unjust spatial realities in urban areas," said the president.