Land Affairs Minister Derek Hanekom, with the aid of=20 some sharp advisers from non-government organisations,=20 has had an uncanny run of success in dealing with an=20 issue that some have called the country’s seismic fault=20 — one that threatens those who dare to cross it with=20 tremors from both the left and right.
But indications are that opposition to Derek’s Decrees=20 (as they are known in white farming circles), a series=20 of laws designed essentially to redistribute 30 percent=20 of arable land in the countryside to the rural poor, is=20 now mounting.=20
There are initial signs that Hanekom is getting the=20 support he will need from Cabinet if he is to succeed=20 in straightening the skewed social relations that=20 apartheid created in the countryside. (See PAGE 12)
But Hanekom has an Achilles heel. Existing commercial=20 farmers (mostly white at this stage) are a major force=20 for productivity and stability in the countryside,=20 employing up to six million labourers and providing the=20 country with much of its basic food needs. This vital=20 constituency is deeply disgruntled not because of land=20 reform per se but because these farmers feel the=20 minister has relied on old friends in the NGO sector=20 instead of consulting with people who have worked the=20 land for decades.
Hanekom should take a page from the book of his=20 colleague, Labour Minister Tito Mboweni, and ensure=20 that those sectors of organised agriculture willing to=20 adapt to the reality of the new nation have a say on=20 how this programme is implemented — even if this means=20 painful negotiation and compromise.