Responsible comments could remove emotions from land debate

The Freedom Front Plus welcomes the comments of Gugile Nkwinti, minister of rural development and land reform, that productivity on farms are more important than the objective of 30% of agricultural land having to be transferred to black people by next year.

Mr. Pieter Groenewald, the FF Plus' spokesperson on rural development and land reform, says it has always been the FF Plus' viewpoint that productivity would ensure food security.

"Responsible comments could remove political emotions from land reform. The ANC government is apparently starting to realise that it is one thing to set goals, but that they are not so easily attainable in practice," Mr. Groenewald said.

About the continued uncertainty about exactly how much land the state owns, Mr. Groenewald says that figures recently announced by government about this do not correlate and only serve to create confusion which leads to dissatisfaction and uncertainty in agricultural circles.

"The FF Plus has repeatedly asked the minister questions about land ownership but there is still no clarity about this. It is unacceptable that the state does not even know how much land it owns in South Africa.

"The time has come for the issue to be given urgent attention and for the state to appoint an independent institution to do a comprehensive audit.

"Without it, there cannot be a sensible debate about the issue of land reform and land ownership and it will always lead to ill-considered emotional comments," Mr. Groenewald said.

Statement issued by Mr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus spokesperson: Rural Development and Land Reform, August 16 2013

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