The proposed compulsory disclosure of race and nationality for all property registrations is re-racialisation and bad for the economy, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday.
”Re-racialising land ownership will hamper investment and misses the point,” DA spokesperson on land affairs Maans Nel said in a statement.
”If implemented, these provisions will unquestionably dull opportunities for much-needed investment, increase the scope for government intervention in the economy and hamper growth,” he said
The report was commissioned by Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana to assess the impact of land ownership by non-South Africans.
It was not released to the media as expected on Monday, but according to a copy leaked to journalists a system of compulsory disclosure of nationality should be introduced immediately and race should be disclosed for South Africans registering to measure transformation.
The DA believed this would discourage foreign investors who had shown interest in game farming and tourism.
”Ultimately job creation will suffer and it will become more difficult for the poor to be extricated from poverty, as opposed to being supported in their current circumstances,” he said. — Sapa