This from the "Mail & Guardian"

'Necks on the block' at land summit

Johannesburg, South Africa



27 July 2005 11:54

The land summit has to be groundbreaking in order to speed up the pace of land reform in South Africa, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Wednesday.

"This has to be a groundbreaking summit. Everybody's neck must be on the block by the time we leave here," she told the opening of the five-day summit in Johannesburg.

She said the government has created economic space to allow growth and it needs to know from the meeting what trade-offs it will have to make to speed up land reform.

The government's targets are that all land-restitution claims be settled within the next three years and that 30% of agricultural land be delivered to the previously disadvantaged by 2014.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said, to much applause, that the willing-buyer-willing seller concept will have to be revisited. Reasons for this include that the state is the only buyer, and often farmers are asking exorbitant prices for their land.

She said the government is concerned about the high price of land and will have to ensure that the markets are not the leader in the process.

The government has to use the power of the markets decisively to make sure sellers work with the state and do not "exploit us".

Land reform also has to include rehabilitating mining towns and ensuring that agricultural black economic empowerment plays a major role.

"The mandate of the summit is to make sure [reform] is taken a step higher."

Progress in land reform and ways to speed up the process are the main focus of the conference, which comes at a time when the government is facing mounting criticism over the pace of land reform.

The past few months have also seen suggestions of a moratorium on foreign land ownership. Some pressure groups have threatened land grabs such as those in Zimbabwe if land reform is not speeded up.

Landless 'should hold own summit'
Meanwhile, Pan Africanist Congress president Motsoko Pheko on Wednesday said landless people should hold their own summit as the government's land policy will never resolve South Africa's land problems.

Pheko said recent mass demonstrations against lack of poor housing, land eviction, unemployment, poverty and corruption among councillors illustrate the "terrible conditions the African majority live in after 11 years of 'democracy'".

He said the land question was betrayed in the Freedom Charter, which legitimised the land dispossession of Africans in South Africa.

"The present land-reform policy of this government can only perpetuate land dispossession and landlessness of the African people," he said.

According to Pheko, 62 000 white farmers control 80% of prime farmland.

"It is a shame that in a country that is four times the size of Britain and northern Ireland ... 10-million of the African people live in shacks throughout this country and 75% of them live in abject poverty and are evicted everyday.

"The shacks often burn, killing many people. The matchbox size 'houses' ... which are built for Africans only are evidence that Africans are still treated as inferior and third-class citizens just as under apartheid and colonialism. No non-Africans live in these so-called 'houses'," said Pheko.

Calling land the basis for nationhood, he said that without land and resources Africans had a "sham liberation".

Referring to the Freedom Charter as the "Freedom Cheater", Pheko said South Africa does not belong to all who live in it and that poverty is the "mother of all revolutions".

"The principle of willing seller, willing buyer will not solve the land question in South Africa. Land seized through colonialism must be expropriated and compensation paid for improvements on the land. Land claims must be land for land," he said. -- Sapa

I'm betting that both of these people were schooled in the Soviet Union before it's collapse.

Rich Elliott

quote:

Originally posted by stubbleduck47:

She said the government is concerned about the high price of land and will have to ensure that the markets are not the leader in the process.

The government has to use the power of the markets decisively to make sure sellers work with the state and do not "exploit us".

It boggles the mind.

They think it it a good plan, the only trouble is that the "new, previously disadvantaged owners" usually does not know how to farm/run a farm. The results is overgrazing, no knowledge on how to grow corn/grain in a commercial way, fences, implements and vechiles are not looked after. The result is a bankrupt "previous disadvataged owner" in a few years time. It happened in Zim and is busy happening in SA.

I can tell you guys 100's of stories of what they said and did. One example is a guy got a loan from the agricultural bank (LandBank), but he could not keep up his monthly morgage payments and said he could not undersdtand why the bank keep on sending "bills" each month. Uneccesary to say he could not produce the amount of products the previous owner did.

There is a joke in the area where I grew up, "sell your land at a good price to these guys, let them try it for 2/3 years and then rent your farm back from them for next to nothing".(Unfortunately you would have to build everything back up from scratch).

There is some fears however, because many commercial farmers think they would start the same land reform as Zim had.

Only thing we can do is wait, see and hope for the best.

RM

"The government has to use the power of the markets decisively to make sure sellers work with the state and do not "exploit us".

Ahhhh, it's refreshing to know the "victim gene" is alive and thriving. I wonder if the new Republic of South Zimbabwe will keep the same flag?

This is just so sad.....

"Come Comrades!! Join the peoples' revolution!"

Idiots.....

-Bob F.

Correction:
I should have said, "I wonder if the Democratic Replublic of South Zimbabwe will keep the same flag?"

And why is it the worst of the Marxist/Socialist countries call themselves "The Democratic Republic of ......"?

BTW, nice flags Bob!

Anybody still want to buy a ranch in South Africa?

Well folks, just another repeat of what started in Kenya in the fifties and has moved right on down the continent. History will repeat itself surely as we live. Better go and enjoy the great hunting in South Africa with your friendly PH's and their white African farmers and ranchers while you can. Sadly, it's coming, and you better believe it, like it or not.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Anybody still want to buy a ranch in South Africa?

I took the bait

Well if the truth were told about how many Mexicans are crossing the borders into USA ( illegally) then if I were you guys in the USA I would be a bit worried as well !!! or is it all press propaganda

Actually seriously for a change,

If the G8 member countries keep writing off African Debt and keep feeding their coffers then we ranch owners in Africa are going to be reasonably happy with events

Peter

I wonder where all the idiot ass Hollywood types are now, remember all the bullshit " free South Africa " concerts and such ? These same liberal idiots have homes on land previously owned by native americans and then the spanish. Maybe they should surrender their land and homes first eh ?....................JJ