Siseko Njobeni, Nick Wilson and Hopewell Hadebe
CABINET is to be the final arbiter on whether government will place a moratorium on the sale of South African land to foreigners.
This after property groups and civil society bodies gave Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza’s panel of experts a mixed report card on their findings regarding foreign land ownership in SA last Friday.
Didiza’s spokesman, Steve Galane, said yesterday the minister would take the panel’s recommendations to the cabinet.
“The implementation of the recommendations will have to be a cabinet decision. She will not do anything about the recommendations until cabinet decides on the matter,” Galane said. He would not comment on when the cabinet would discuss the matter.
The proposal recommending the moratorium came from a panel appointed by Didiza in 2004. Its work was to review the ownership of local land by foreigners.
The land question remains an emotive issue in SA, and the panel’s suggestions follow hot on the heels of President Thabo Mbeki’s announcement that government will be reviewing its “willing buyer, willing seller” approach to land reform.
Business Unity SA CEO Jerry Vilakazi yesterday urged business and government to engage in a dialogue on the matter.
“We should not be too quick to send threats whenever we deal with South African issues. We hope that trends stops” he said.
Seeff Properties chairman Samuel Seeff said he was uncomfortable with the proposed move.
“We have reiterated on a number of occasions that if government wishes to bring out a foreign property ownership policy, they should do so with specific terms and conditions that focus on the objectives they are seeking to achieve,” he said.
“What they should not do is just slap a blanket moratorium on sales of land to foreigners. Putting comments like these out into the marketplace, without explaining the reason behind them, is detrimental all round,” Seeff said.
He said foreigners had played an important role in creating employment and investment in SA.
The Democratic Alliance said the proposals could have “profound’ negative economic consequences for SA. However, the African National Congress’s alliance partners have come out in support of the call.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions urged the cabinet to heed the panel’s recommendation, saying land distribution was urgent.
Spokesman Patrick Craven said the sale of land and property to foreigners was instrumental in pushing up property prices.
Mazibuko Jara of the Alliance of Land and Agrarian Reform Movement said the panel’s report reflected the sentiments of the nation.
“Land ownership by foreigners is not the only problem. The greatest challenge for SA is the continued ownership of land by a few white farmers,” he said. With Sapa
Publisher: Business Day
Source: Business Day
