The state currently has 9,8 million hectares of land under custodianship and yet it wants to expropriate more

12 June 2021

In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development (DALRRD) revealed that it has 9,8 million hectares of land registered under its custodianship in the name if the state.

This shocking revelation comes on the back of the ANC/EFF coalition plans to include a state custodianship clause in the Section 25 Amendment Bill, which in effect is nothing more than a veiled attempt to “nationalise” all land and place it under the control of the State.

That the state has 9,8 million hectares of land under its control, yet we have countless communities across the country who have spent decades trying to have their land restitution claims settled, exposes the hypocrisy and insincerity of the ANC government in pursuing genuine land reform.

This latest revelation by the DALRRD shows that the ill-advised pursuit for an amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution by the ANC/EEF, to allow for expropriation of land without compensation, is just a populist yet dangerous ploy to weaponise the land issue for political power.

By admitting that it has been sitting on 9,8 million hectares of land, while land restitution claimants remain landless, the ANC government has all but confirmed that the major impediment to land reform has not been the Constitution but lack of political will.

On Tuesday, the DA will be visiting the head office of the DALRRD to get first-hand information about the database of its land holdings. The chaotic land administration system in the country has always been cited as one of the reasons why the government is unable to expedite land transfers to communities.

Instead of addressing self-evident shortcomings in land reform, such as the chaotic land administration system, the ANC is instead choosing to scapegoat the Constitution and open the door to a belligerent EFF that wants to tear down the foundations of our democracy through the Section 25 Bill.

The DA will do whatever it takes to prevent this, as it will push South Africa into the abyss, destroying what is left of our economy by deterring investment, destroying prospects for growth, and driving millions more people into extreme poverty.

Issued by Annette Steyn, Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development, 12 June 2021