South Africa land reform may allow for compensation in certain instances - Enoch Godongwana

A senior African National Congress party official has hinted South Africa’s plans to allow for land seizures without compensation will primarily focus on redistributing unused and underutilized property, and may allow for fair payment in some instances.

According to the head of the ANC’s economic transformation committee, Enoch Godongwana, the government will identify land that is not being used and follow a process of consultation before expropriating it within the confines of the constitution and rule of law.

Enoch Godongwana says ANC has no intentions of nationalizing land but, to redistribute it.#ANCNEC #LandExpropriation

— Hloni Nyetanyane (@HloniNyetanyane) September 5, 2018

British Prime Minister Theresa May, during her recent visit to South Africa, called for a legal, transparent and democratic land reform.

The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party has called for “general expropriation of land without compensation.

The ANC agreed to the principle of expropriating land without compensation at its national congress in December 2017, without elaborating on how the policy would be implemented.

Watching Enca and Enoch Godongwana admitting ANC failures IS TELLING. It’s time that they be voted out of power next year. The damage has been done!!

— Stanley Dikgetsi (@sdikgetsi) September 5, 2018

The possible erosion of property rights has spooked investors, farmers’ groups and banks, and triggered a sell-off in the rand.

With elections next year, President Cyril Ramaphosa has embraced land expropriation without compensation as a means of addressing racially skewed ownership patterns rooted in colonial and white-minority rule, but insists there won’t be a land grab.

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