The Tenure Security Extension Amendment Bill has not been well thought out and can have many unforeseen, and negative consequences, especially for landowners, said Adv. Anton Alberts, chairman of the FF Plus.
During the Second Legislature Debate on the Bill of Amendment Adv. Alberts said that the consequences became particularly evident when considering the bigger picture of the government’s disastrous land reform program, characterized by poor execution, corruption, hostility to farmers and the failure of black entrants.
“One of the serious flaws of the bill is to give the right to any person to bury his family on any ground. If allowed, it opens the landowner up for possible future land claims.”
“Furthermore, given the real fears that farmers have for farm attacks and murders, they just cannot afford to allow odd graves and people arriving for funerals and rituals on their farms. Nobody in the ANC thought about it.”
“A further unintended consequence is that farmers will just have fewer people living on their land and mechanize farms. Eventually, the struggle will no longer be one between farmers, workers, and residents, but between workers and robots.”
“Given the uncertainty that farmers currently have about ownership of their land because of ANC statements of expropriation without compensation, one can also understand that they will not trust this legislation.”
“There is still a solution, and it is the creation of agri-towns by the government in partnership with farmers. These towns will be able to create resources to build homes, schools, hospitals, and shops and create further jobs. This will enable farm workers to live close to their workplaces, and their children will have access to education that will ensure that they become successful landowners one day,” suggested Adv. Alberts.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
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