South Africa would not go down the same path as Zimbabwe where people had taken the law into their own hands, because people were frustrated with the pace of land reform, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday.
”As neighbours, we have seen in Zimbabwe what happens when two decades of foot-dragging on land reform eventually led to a situation where the frustration and anger of the people boiled over, with people taking the law into their own hands.”
In a prepared speech, Van Schalkwyk, who is Western Cape Premier, said to members of the agricultural community at Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng on Thursday that: ”This will not happen in South Africa.”
”The NNP’s approach to land reform stands in direct contrast to that of Zimbabwe, which is characterised by a disregard for the rule of law and property rights. It stands in direct contrast to the approach that has led to the destruction of agricultural opportunities, investment confidence, and food security in many African countries.”
Explaining the NNP’s switch from initially opposing the Land Restitution Amendment Bill in Parliament, he said his party — which has a cooperation agreement with the ruling African National Congress — had entered into negotiations with the government and built in ”certain checks”.
An amendment was inserted in the Bill to specifically cross-reference the provisions of this Bill to the provisions of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.
”But what does this mean in practice? It means that in all cases of expropriation by the Minister of Land Affairs, the minister must give the landowner concerned adequate notice of the expropriation, she must give the land owner an opportunity to make representations, there will always be a right of review or internal appeal and a land owner will always be entitled to reasons for the expropriation.”
”In other words, expropriation will only be used as a measure of last resort. It also means that, as an administrative functionary, the exercise of the (Land Affairs) minister’s powers will always be subject to judicial review by a court or a tribunal.”
”Taken at its most general level, land reform addresses a very broad spectrum of concerns, and its scope includes all land — whether urban, rural, held in communal or tribal trust, wilderness areas, beaches, parastatal land, and the like.”
He noted that the South African Green Paper on Land Reform estimated that the State owns more than a quarter of all land in South Africa, most of which, according to the paper, is ”superfluous.”
”We believe that it is of vital importance, for the success of the land reform project that all spheres of government urgently make the large amounts of unproductive and under-productive State land, in all its forms, available for distribution to those who have previously had little or no access to land.”
”The government target of obtaining 30% of commercial farmland in South Africa and then distributing it to emerging farmers within 15 years, calls for innovative programmes if it is to be successful without undermining property rights, the rule of law, and investor confidence.”
Van Schalkwyk said: ”The NNP believes that the best solution to the problems of available land lies in the principles of the free market. We are not opposed to fair and equitable expropriation of land as a means of last resort to achieve land reform, but our first choice is always that of willing-seller to willing-buyer.” – I-Net Bridge