Minister Nkwinti's land proposals fall short of the Constitution

8 May 2015

The Democratic Alliance strongly rejects the Land Reform policies put forward by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti, regarding the ceilings for viable commercial farms and the expropriation and redistribution thereof.

Minister Nkwinti announced today that the ceilings, for both natural and juristic persons will be as follows:

SMALL SCALE FARMS: The ceiling for a viable commercial small scale farm should be 1 000ha;

MEDIUM SCALE FARMS: The ceiling for a medium scale viable commercial farm should be 2 500ha; and,

LARGE SCALE FARMS: The ceiling for a large scale viable commercial farm should be 5 000ha.

I will therefore today write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform, Phumuzile Ngwenya-Mabila, requesting her to summon Minister Nkwinti, to appear before the Committee and explain under which authority he envisages carrying out the policies announced today.

The latest utterances by the Minister fly squarely in the face of the Constitution and the rights entrenched in it. The Constitution is unambiguous in its protection of the Rule of Law, the right to due process and the right to private land ownership.

These caps on land ownership will cap investment and cap job creation. Effectively, when farms grow beyond the ANC’s proposed cap, government will expropriate them. This will preclude investment across the sector, including in in black-owned agri-businesses that have grown beyond a certain point.

The DA supports equitable and just land reform. The latest ANC policies will have disastrous effects as they are being pushed through without comprehensive public participation.

Statement issued by Annette Steyn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, May 8 2015