Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, says the state has enough land for redistribution and is being dishonest with the people of South Africa when it says that expropriation without compensation is needed to make the process of land reform possible.
During the budget debate of department of Rural Development and Land Reform Groenewald said in his speech that the people of South Africa must also take note of the minister’s statements about expropriation without compensation. She is trying to justify the illegal occupation of land, but that is in conflict with President Cyril Ramaphosa who said that it will not be tolerated.
"The minister’s allegation that land prices are inflated is also wrong. It simultaneously serves as proof that black people are not really interested in land, but in the money that becomes available through the process of land reform.
"The government admitted in parliament that in 93% of all cases where land claims were successful, the beneficiaries preferred to take the money and not the land.
"So, when the state pays, for instance, R5 million for a farm, it also has to pay another R5 million to the claimant who does not want the land. In effect, it means that R10 million of tax money is spent on land that is only worth R5 million. That is inflated, but it is certainly not the seller’s fault.
"The government is misleading the people of South Africa by saying that expropriation without compensation will speed up the land reform process. The truth is that the state admitted that it owns 4000 farms at present. Why are these farms not given to the people?
"With the first restitution process that ended in 1998, 80 000 claims were submitted. Since then, 20 years have gone by and some of these claims have still not been finalised.
"On top of that, the state also admitted that it owns 17 million hectares of land in South Africa. Why does the state not give this land, in addition to the 4000 farms in its possession, to the people who want the land?
"The government also admitted that 90% of the previous redistribution programmes failed. These farms that are already in the state’s possession can also be utilised.
"Against this backdrop and these facts, it is clear that the ANC government is playing on the people’s feelings in order to cover up its own incompetence. The government is deceiving the people by saying that expropriation without compensation will speed up the process of redistributing the land," Groenewald said.