Agri SA said this is “unworkable and unconstitutional”. While it supports the idea of tenure and farm worker empowerment, “the proposed policy is fundamentally flawed and cannot be realistically implemented,” said Theo Boshoff, Agri SA legal advisor.
Boshoff said no farmer could afford to lose 50% of their farm and Agri SA would oppose such a policy in the Constitutional Court if it was implemented.
Agri SA deputy president Theo De Jager said the policy “could lead to disinvestment in the sector and also threaten food security.”.
Agri Eastern Cape called on government to fund an independent audit of state-owned land as well as a racial audit of all privately owned land. This was after (which report/audit), in the Eastern Cape, the state owns only 9% (1,5 million hectares) of the land, while 67% (11,3 million hectares) was privately owned and 24% (4 million hectares) unaccounted for.
But Ernest Pringle, Agri EC president, said the figures appeared to be inaccurate, given the fact that the department’s own figures put the former homeland areas at 6 million hectares, or 36% of the province.
He added that ‘state-owned land’ should include all municipal land, conservation areas, state forests and properties acquired by the state for land reform, as well as that taken for roads, railways, Eskom installations and the like.
“We are confident that this would bring the total of state-owned land in the province to over 50%. A balanced audit would go a long way towards laying a positive foundation for future developments.”
Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Mulder said the proposal was unworkable and ill-considered. It “will not resolve land reform problems in SA and will definitely destroy food security.”
Mulder disagreed with minister Nkwinti, saying the department had no understanding of the intricacies of modern commercial farming. “Successful commercial farmers with whom I interact are more than prepared to act as mentors and assist new black farmers and help them farm successfully.”
The DA said the proposal was expropriation by stealth, unconstitutional and that it would oppose it. “Indeed, while the DA supports land reform that corrects the wrongs of the past, we cannot support arbitrary expropriation, which will threaten existing jobs, undermine job creation and food security,” said Kevin Mileh, DA spokesperson for Rural Development and Land Reform.
At a discussion with agriculture organisations on Monday, 7 March, Minister Nkwinti discussed “the final fiscal policy proposals for strengthening the relative rights of people working the land.”.
Aside from farm owners having to give half of their farm to their farm workers, these included workers receiving shares based on the number of years worked on the farm.
Nkwinti said the department will continue to engage with stakeholders over the next 12 months.
