Thread: South Africa’s Parliament Passes Motion to Take Land ‘Without Compensation’

South Africa’s Parliament Passes Motion to Take Land ‘Without Compensation’

Mujahid Safodien / AFP / Getty

by JOEL B. POLLAK
27 Feb 2018

South Africa’s National Assembly passed a motion Tuesday to allow the government to expropriate land without compensation, fulfilling the wishes of radicals and black nationalists, but raising fears for the fate of the country’s white minority, as well as the future of its agricultural sector.

The motion was introduced by the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and passed, 241-83, with support from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.

The South African constitution, negotiated in the mid-1990s as part of the transition from apartheid to non-racial democracy, includes a provision for the protection of property rights. Section 25 of the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2) provides that “Property may be expropriated only . . . subject to compensation, the amount of which and the time and manner of payment of which have either been agreed to by those affected or decided or approved by a court.”

However, the South African government seems prepared to ignore or amend that provision. The motion that passed Tuesday will be referred to a committee to review its constitutionality before becoming law.

Land ownership is a deeply emotive issue in South Africa, where the colonial and apartheid governments seized black-owned land and reserved most arable land for whites. The post-apartheid government set a target of redistributing 30% of the land.

However, redistribution has been slow — not just because of constitutional protections and the cost of land, but also because of decreased interest in farming among black South Africans. The government also provides little support for black farmers.

The new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has raised hopes for economic reform, but his support for expropriation without compensation, despite the cautionary example of Zimbabwe to the north, has caused alarm.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-se...-compensation/

South Africa Votes To Seize White-Owned Land Without Compensation

WILL RACKE
Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
9:56 AM 02/28/2018

South Africa’s parliament voted Tuesday to move forward with an amendment to the country’s constitution that would allow the government to seize and redistribute white-owned land without compensation.

The motion was brought by the radical Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party and was widely supported by the ruling African National Congress, which controls almost two-thirds of the parliament. The measure passed by a vote of 241 to 83, reports Reuters.

EFF leader Julius Malema, a longtime proponent of land expropriation, said the “time for reconciliation is over. Now is the time for justice.”
“We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land,” Malema told parliament ahead of the vote, according to South Africa’s News24.

The ANC has long promised land reforms aimed at evening the distribution of land among racial groups, still a highly contentious subject more than two decades after the end of apartheid. Whites own roughly three-quarters of South Africa’s farmland, according to a 2017 government audit.

It was not immediately clear when any change to South Africa’s constitution to allow expropriation of land without compensation would take place. The matter will now be referred to the Constitutional Review Committee, which must report back to parliament with a plan by August 30.

Newly elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has backed land confiscation, saying after his inauguration earlier this month that he would work to hasten the transfer of land to black people. He also stressed that food production and security should be considered in any expropriation effort.

Not all of South Africa’s parties supported the motion to amend the constitution. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) opposed the measure, arguing that it would undermine property rights and deter foreign investment.

DA lawmaker Thandeka Mbabama said expropriation without compensation “cannot be part of the solution,” adding that it was a “lie peddled by the ANC, who fears being outflanked on the left by the EFF.”

http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/28/so...te-owned-land/

U.S. Foreign Aid by Country

South Africa.

https://explorer.usaid.gov/cd/ZAF?implementing_agency_id=1

If I owned land in South Africa, I'd think it was a good deal.
I'll give the land back in exchange for keeping my life.

Many South Africans didn't get that choice.