State wants to ditch willing seller concept for land redistribution

The government gave notice yesterday that the willing-buyer, willing-seller concept for land redistribution would be ditched in favour of a system of average hectare price offers and expropriation because the process was lagging far behind.

Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti told an economics cluster briefing of ministers yesterday that the government was "obsessed" with achieving the transfer to 30 percent of agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged. But he acknowledged that the deadline for doing so - set for 2014 - was under review because the process was lagging far behind.

So far only about 5 percent of land had been transferred, he noted, emphasising that 87 percent of land was still in the hands of the minority - a reference to white farmers - and the rest was held by the majority.

"The government must deal with the 87 percent and 13 percent split," said Nkwinti. He rejected concern that extending the date for achieving the aim would destabilise commercial farming as farmers would not be certain whether they would be able to retain their farms.

Nkwinti said he was keen to avoid a repeat of the experience of a neighbouring state - a clear reference to Zimbabwe - where the land issue had led to significant "polarisation".

He said that the full budget for land restitution - returning land to the dispossessed - had been spent in the first quarter of this financial year as prices demanded by farmers mounted. Discussions with certain farmers' unions were fruitful in that average prices of farmland per hectare were established. This was substantially lower than what he called the extortionate amounts demanded by some farmers.

Hinting that this would be the route followed in future, he said the willing-seller and willing-buyer concept had been reviewed at an alliance summit before the Polokwane national conference of the ANC, where it was decided it "doesn't work".

Department director-general Thozi Gwanya first hinted last week that the government would not be able to achieve the 30 percent target and was pondering extending the deadline to 2025. He cited lack of funds and the recession for the rethink by the government.

Like his predecessor, ex-land affairs minister Lulu Xingwana, Nkwinti took a stab at game farmers gobbling up arable farm land that could be used for maize and potatoes.

He said if you drove from Grahamstown to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, all along the way there were signs for game farms.

Business Report

Posted at 10:08AM Nov 11, 2009 by Editor in Market  |  Comments[13]