ANC secretary-general Gwede criticised the lack of progress in land redistribution at the economic summit on the weekend of 17 October attended by the ANC and its alliance partners.
He said golf courses and game parks are unproductive ways to utilise land and called for a moratorium on the sale of government land for these purposes as the country could not afford a situation where land was used for luxuries instead of agriculture. e said the situation where South Africa continues to be a nett importer of food had to be avoided.
“We are vulnerable if we depend on food imports because we have no control when food prices rise,” he said. he alliance issued a statement after the summit saying that the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle has to abandoned.
According to Mantashe this principle hasn’t helped to speed up land reform. Annelize Crosby, the land policy adviser to Agri SA, said very little of what Mantashe said was new. It mostly came from decisions made at the Land Summit in 2005. “I suspect it’s all been repeated in the current climate of political infighting,” she said. “The threats of expropriation and doing away with the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle are making people nervous. We need investor confidence, but talk like this damages confidence.” Crosby said there’s enough land for sale and confirmed that Agri SA is willing to assist government in the land reform process.
Maans Nel, the DA spokesperson for land affairs, agreed that there’s enough land available, adding that the constitution dictates how land prices should be determined in cases of expropriation and they are not opposed to expropriation as a last resort, as long as it follows constitutional rules. N el said he agreed with Mantashe that government land shouldn’t be sold for golf courses. “But private land is a different matter.” – Drieka Burger
