Cape Town - The government will introduce a number of changes to speed up land reform in the country, including setting a ceiling of land ownership at a maximum of 12000ha.
President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday that foreign nationals would not be allowed to own land in South Africa, but would be eligible for long term leases.
The government has come under increasing pressure of the exceedingly slow pace of land reform. One of the stumbling blocks has been the willing-buyer, willing-seller concept. Farmers have refused to sell land to the state as they have not being offered the prices they want. Frustrated communities have started invading unoccupied state and private land.
“The process of establishing the Office of the Valuer-General is underway, which is established in terms of the Property Valuation Act. Once implemented, the law will stop the reliance on the willing-buyer, willing-seller method in respect of land acquisition by the state,” Zuma said.
He said the government was also working with the private sector to develop and agricultural policy action plan to bring one million hectares of under-utilised land into full production over the next three years.
A major concern has been that communities who have received land do not have the know-how nor have they been given the correct assistance to develop their land.
Last year the government reopened the second window for land claims. More than 36 000 claims have been lodged. The cut-off date is 2019.
IOL