- It's coming... Soviet Socialist Republic of South Africa...
Here we go - another step closer to becoming ZIMBABWE II.
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- The farmer originally wanted R6 million for his farm.
The Government is going to pay him R1.7 million. BUT, wait... you never
know what strings are attached and whether he will actually get the money
in one go or not.
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- I have been saying for years now, that as this process
goes further, you will see them changing the rules, fudging the rules,
and selectively cheating the farmers more and more until eventually the
farmers walk away with nothing except maybe a handful of worthless Govt
Bonds to be paid years later. Take note of what Chris Jordaan is quoted
as saying below.
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- Let this be a warning to foreign investors - to stay
away - because anyone's land can be seized. In Zimbabwe they have taken
away farms owned by French, Germans, etc. These Govts start looking for
"absentee landowners" (normally foreigners or people who have
left the country), and then they will steal your land away from you. --
Jan
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- AllAfrica.Com
6-7-5
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- Land Affairs and Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza is
set to approve SA's first expropriation order using a new restitution law,
Gauteng and North West land claims chief Blessing Mphela said yesterday.
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- The expropriation order, which is expected to be signed
by the minister by the end of the week or early next week, may spark fears
that it could become the norm instead of the exception, as occurred in
neighbouring Zimbabwe.
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- The department's financial directorate would this week
finalise the amount of compensation to be paid to the farmer before Didiza
signed the order, Mphela said.
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- An amendment to the Restitution of Land Rights Act passed
last year allows the minister to expropriate land under claim without a
court order. This is the first time that the amendment has been applied.
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- Farmers' unions expressed disappointment yesterday at
the minister's decision, but land activists welcomed it.
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- "All other avenues should be exhausted before this
extreme measure is taken," said Laurie Bosman, president of farmers'
union AgriSA. "It sends the wrong message to the outside world for
investment and property rights in SA."
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- Chris Jordaan, president of the Transvaal Agricultural
Union, said the move signalled the start of state-sanctioned land grabs.
"The only difference between SA and Zimbabwe is that the minister
does it here through legislation."
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- Mphela said he had been forced to recommend expropriation
after price negotiations deadlocked for eight months.
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- "There are still farmers who feel they can resist
restitution, but they are not in the majority," he said.
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- He denied the move would scare off investors. "Expropriation
is not the main vehicle for land delivery," he said. "It is only
done in extreme cases and having due regard for the rights of the owner."
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- The farmer, F Visser in the Delareyville district of
North West, had initially wanted R6m before lowering his price to R3m.
A government-appointed valuer pegged its ceiling value at R1,7m, but the
farmer refused to budge.
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- He was among five farmers in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
and North West province who faced expropriation last year when price negotiations
deadlocked.
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- They agreed to resume talks after being served with letters
of intent, prompting provincial land claims commissioners to withdraw their
recommendation to expropriate.
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- The restitution law applies only to land from which blacks
were forcibly removed through apartheid policies after 1913.
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- http://allafrica.com/stories/200506070237.html
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