POLITICS

Farmers feel as strongly about the land as the Zulus - TAU SA

Louis Meintjes says ANC’s point of departure regarding ownership of land is based on lies and falsehoods

FARMERS WILL DO ANYTHING TO BRING THE GOVERNMENT TO ITS SENSES

Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa would do well to display the same enthusiasm for discussions with the TAU SA, being a representative union of farmers and other landowners, as he did for discussion with the Zulu king. 

“We are legal landowners, we have not stolen the land upon which we pay tax and we have the title deeds issued by the government which explicitly acknowledges our right of property ownership” says TAU SA president, Mr Louis Meintjes. “In addition, it is our farmers who provide the food and fibre for all in this country, and that includes members of the government.”

“It is not only the Zulu nation who are proud of their land. Our farmers are in numerous instances, fourth and fifth generation who farm the land in which they have invested and continue to develop in order to meet the ever increasing demand for food in South Africa and many African countries. We have every right to be equally emotional about our land as the Zulus. A responsible and equitable president would be just as concerned about that fact as he was to address the Zulu king’s concerns,” said Mr Meintjes.

The fact that there is discussion with the Zulus and that government says so-called “black land” will not be stolen clearly displays the racist agenda against white farmers and landowners. “This blatant racism, the double standards and duplicity by the ANC regarding land ownership is a matter that deserves serious attention locally and internationally,” said Mr Meintjes.

“The ANC has, through these actions, clearly proven that their decisions and the implementation thereof is based purely upon racist prejudice All white citizens who to date have actively worked to build this country, are now placed in a unique position regarding their continued private ownership of property. If indeed all were equal before the law in terms of the Constitution, there can be no discrimination between farmers’ land and any other land.

“The ANC’s point of departure regarding the ownership of land is based on lies and falsehoods. In addition, in denial of their own research findings, they continue to blatantly lie about the ownership percentages of the various races. This strategy is largely driven by the ANC in an attempt to save themselves at the expense of South Africa.”

Mr Meintjes pointed out that there was sufficient land freely available on the market, along with unused land in government hands, which could be used to satisfy the politically-motivated, over-emphasised and questionable “land hunger”. Ironically, 93% of land claimants preferred cash payouts rather than the land that had to be worked to provide and income.

The ANC’s promise that things will improve radically in South Africa once land has been redistributed, is as much a lie as all the other hollow promises made by the government since they came to power. The complete opposite is in fact true. Unemployment will increase as it has continued to do under ANC mismanagement. More concerning is that the ANC’s National Democratic Revolution policy will condemn South Africa to similar poverty and misery as all other countries where Socialism has been implemented as failed policy. 

Mr Meintjes continued by saying that it was totally unacceptable that the country’s food-producing commercial farmers are presented as common criminals in their own country. “All that they can be accused of is that they have continually developed and built this country, stimulated the economy and provided food and fibre for every citizen of South Africa. Unfortunately, according to the ANC, as part of the wrong race group. This leaves TAU SA along with its international allies, with no option but to do all in its power to apply maximum pressure on the ANC government to come to its senses and place South Africa, rather than the ANC, first. Even if this would take the form of sanctions against this racist government,” said Mr Meintjies.

Statement issued by TAU SA, 10 July 2018