Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that land expropriation without compensation is ANC policy, has triggered a heated debate, and especially from agricultural leaders that provoked severe criticism.
TAU SA president, Mr. Louis Meintjes, said Ramaphosa’s statement is described as “thoughtless emotion that gained the upper hand.” He said that every citizen should be worried. “It is clear that land will be used as a dangling carrot to try to attract the voters back to the ANC after they noticeably left the sinking ship,” said Mr. Meintjes.
“The growing poverty and unemployment that already grips South Africa in a stranglehold that has the potential to destabilize the country completely. South Africa’s economy must grow to address this sustainable issue. If the ANC thinks that the much-needed investments will follow if they succeed in changing the constitution in such a way, it only reveals their lack of insight into how a country’s economy operates. This step did not take into account the landowners’ collateral as security. A step of expropriation without compensation will destroy the total agricultural value chain,” warned Mr. Meintjes.
“The ANC’s acknowledgment that 95% of all land transfers are being launched by the government is going out of production, bringing food security to the forefront. TAU SA can only responsibly commit itself to processes where methods are used to give new entrants at least a chance to succeed and not to do as at present, where there is almost a guarantee of failure.”
FF Plus’s leader, Dr. Pieter Groenewald said the decision that the country’s constitution should be amended to expropriate land without compensation is dangerous and threatening the agricultural sector, private land ownership, and economy. The ruling essentially threatens all private land ownership and opens the way for nationalization of land in South Africa.
“Those who believe that the conditions of the decision that food security and the economy cannot be detrimental, efficiently eliminating the expropriation, are deceived by beautiful words. Cyril Ramaphosa is a master to emphasize the aspects that give people peace of mind, but the interpretation of the terms will be an ANC interpretation.
“If the Constitution is amended, the interpretation of food security will be interpreted so widely that agricultural land can be expropriated without compensation.”
“Ramaphosa has no choice but to carry out the will of the ANC and is limited as an individual power. If the Constitution is amended, it would no longer be possible for private land ownership in the long term,” said Dr. Groenewald.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
