In 1994, after its first democratic elections, South Africa launched an ambitious and wide-ranging program of land reform aimed at addressing its bitter history of dispossession of indigenous populations by white settlers. Progress has been painfully slow over the past 24 years, and for much of this period the land issue has seemed marginal, given that the economy is now centered on the service industry, as well as mining and manufacturing, rather than agriculture. The budget for land reform has hovered around 0.4 percent of the national budget.

Yet, suddenly, the question of land is at the top of the political and news agenda. A major controversy has erupted over the past few weeks, following a resolution adopted last December by the ANC, the ruling party. This proposes expropriation of (white-owned) land without compensation, and its subsequent redistribution to black people. At the end of February, parliament decided to investigate whether or not the country’s constitution needs to be amended in order to allow for expropriation without compensation. A constitutional review committee plans to hold public hearings countrywide, and will report in August.

White South Africans have begun to panic about the security of their property rights. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has sent out phone messages stating that “the ANC and EFF are working together to take all land and homes.” Some white commercial farmers see the beginning of Zimbabwean-style “land grabs.” Big business is up in arms. In contrast, the ANC resolution has been greeted with approval by large numbers of black people. Given the bitter history of large-scale land dispossession, refusing to pay for stolen land is seen by many black South Africans as essential to restoring their dignity.

The ANC is clearly attempting to regain political ground lost to the small but vocal opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which first tabled the land expropriation motion in Parliament. The unresolved land question, and in particular the issue of compensation, has been a key rallying cry for the EFF since it first emerged in 2013. It is sure to make land a central issue in national elections due to take place in 2019.

One effect of the controversy is that land and property rights have become key topics of public debate. This presents both dangers and opportunities for South African society, which has one of the highest levels of inequality in the world, and continues to experience deep tensions around race. The danger is that polarization obscures the real complexities of land reform and constrains effective action. The opportunity is to begin to pay serious attention to the land question, and to develop solutions to the many problems that plague government’s program.