Ramaphosa should take IMF warning about property rights to heart 

31 July 2018

The civil rights organisation AfriForum believes Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa, the government and the ruling ANC should seriously reconsider their policy with regard to the expropriation of private property, especially in the light of the warning that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued yesterday in this regard.

The IMF stated that it is optimistic about South Africa’ economic prospects under Pres. Ramaphosa but warned however that the current land debate is creating uncertainty about property rights, which could entail negative effects for the economy.

Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO of AfriForum, explained that there are many case studies that the South African government could emulate to address economic challenges. “There are success stories such as that of South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and even Botswana. There are also disaster stories such as that of Zimbabwe, Venezuela and North Korea. What Ramaphosa and the South African government are in effect doing, is flirting with policies that are similar to the disaster stories, while the policies that led to the world’s greatest success stories are labelled as evil.”

Roets further explained that the protection of property rights and the withholding of unnecessary interference by government are the common denominators in the success stories. In contrast, the common denominators in the disaster stories are the violation of property rights and government interference.

Issued by Natasha Venter, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 31 July 2018