Ramaphosa's promise – 'We will take the land'
10 January 2018
Under the cloak of “legitimate expropriation” (without compensation), the newly elected ANC president promises that privately owned land will be “taken”. This boils down to legitimising theft. In the same breath, specific preconditions are set inter alia that the economy should not suffer, and that food security should not be affected in a negative manner.
“Given acknowledgement by government that the productive utilisation of land which has been transferred in terms of the restitution process to beneficiaries, as well as providing aid comprising billions of Rand to people who cannot or don’t want to farm, has failed miserably, this new statement does not bode well for South Africa”, according to Mr Louis Meintjes, president of TAU SA. “Where in the world has expropriation without compensation coupled to the waste of agricultural land, resulted in foreign confidence, economic growth and increased food production?’ he asks.
Mr Meintjes emphasized that the time has come for South Africa to confront its true challenges and identify them as such. Not only are law-abiding citizens in their own country, irrespective of a “non-racial” cornerstone of a so-called “model” constitution, subjected to a wide variety pro-black and anti-Afrikaans laws, but pose a growing population increasing demands to a diminishing tax base. That process is gathering momentum whilst the RSA’s junk status, growing rural poverty, collapsing infrastructure, the lowering of scholastic and academical standards, delivering basic services, rampant crime and a blatant absence to planning is the order of the day.
“No ideology, supported by superficial and populistic promises which are not supportive of sound economic principles, will ensure improvement. If Mr Ramaphosa is set on creating an untenable situation, he should actively create circumstances which will promote famine. His promise to expropriate land without compensation, sows the seed for revolution. Expropriation without compensation is theft”.
Issued by TAU SA, 10 January 2018
