S. Africa Drafting
New Land Policy-Minister
The
South African government has said it will introduce a new draft
policy on land tenure this year, aimed at speeding up its
programme to give land to landless blacks.
Rural Development and Land Affairs Minister, Gugile Nkwinti said
his department was working on a policy framework that will set
out how the government will reverse inequalities in land
ownership between blacks and whites.
’’We are going to present to parliament, very soon, a green
paper ... where we open the debate about reviewing the whole
land tenure system in South Africa.’’ Nkwinti told
journalists.
Nkwinti said the white minority holds 87 per cent of
commercial farm land while blacks own only 13 per cent.
The framework
He said the green paper, which would be used as a framework for
future legislation, was 90 per cent complete and would be
taken to cabinet before the end of March, before going to
parliament for approval.
’’We are looking at finalising the whole process... by 31
March 2012,’’ he said.
Land reform is a racially sensitive issue in South Africa,
troubled by the decline in agriculture in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Changing land policy
After the fall of apartheid in 1994, the African National
Congress-led government set itself a target of handing over
30 per cent of commercial farmland to the black majority by
the Year 2014.
The government said last year it planned to resubmit a bill to
parliament that would allow it to seize land from farmers if
negotiations to buy the land from them failed.
The expropriation bill was submitted to parliament in 2008 as
part of efforts to speed up the land reform programme.
But it was put on hold after opposition parties, farmers' bodies
and other civic groups protested, arguing it was
unconstitutional.
Nkwinti said the proposed Expropriation Act was being reworked
by the Department of Public Works in conjunction with his
ministry and would be tabled in parliament later this year.
NAN/Yinka
