Government is steaming ahead with failed land reform system

The ANC government is not honest in its negotiations about land reform and is steaming ahead with its failed system without considering the undertakings or agreements with agricultural interest groups, Dr. Pieter Groenewald, the FF Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on Rural Development and Land Reform said.

Dr. Groenewald today, during the budget debate said the minister had made drastic announcements about land reform which boils down to land, except in exceptional cases, can merely be expropriated.

He said this means that the government has now dropped its initial policy and viewpoint of a 30% re-distribution of white agricultural land to black farmers.

“The ANC can clearly not keep its word. Before the election, after government had bowed the knee to the EFF, you brought the principle of a 50/50% division. The minister undertook to give agricultural organisations the opportunity to bring proposals in this regard.

“But before the period to put proposals on the table had run out at the end of March, the president had already made announcements about the 50/50% division.

“In this way, the agricultural sector was completely disregarded. Why should organisations still submit proposals if government has unilaterally decided that it would go ahead with this policy?

“Land reform in South Africa has failed completely to date due to the incompetence and corruption in the department over years. You, yourself acknowledged that almost 90% of all land reform projects in the country had failed.

“But you merely carry on. Now the state wants to just expropriate land. Where is this money going to come from? Or are you actually saying that the land will be merely taken and the government will decide what it will be paying? It is a recipe for conflict which the government will not be able to manage,” Dr. Groenewald said.

Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus parliamentary spokesperson: Rural development and land reform, May 8 2015