{"id":253820,"date":"2018-08-27T08:46:15","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T12:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rael.org\/?p=253820"},"modified":"2021-02-13T13:56:05","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T18:56:05","slug":"this-is-no-land-grab-south-african-president-defends-property-seizure-plans-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/this-is-no-land-grab-south-african-president-defends-property-seizure-plans-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is no land grab\u2019: South African president defends property seizure plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

RAEL\u2019S COMMENT:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So funny\u2026 the \u201cland grab\u201d was done by armed white colonizers! Redistributing it to black people who are descendants of abused and tortured original owners without compensation is only justice! And they should also seize not only the land but all wealth belonging to these people who accumulated huge fortunes due to the crimes of their ancestors.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended land reform plans that include property expropriation days after the US President Donald Trump questioned the policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is no land grab. Nor is it an assault on the private ownership of property,\u201d Ramaphosa wrote in his column for the Financial Times. \u201cThe proposals will not erode property rights, but will instead ensure that the rights of all South Africans, and not just those who currently own land, are strengthened.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has proposed a constitutional amendment allowing the government to seize and redistribute land without any compensation to its owners. The draft, which has not been adopted so far, evoked widespread international outrage and multiple media reports of alleged violence against South African white farmers, including murders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposal on expropriation without compensation is one element of a broader program of land reform that seeks to ensure that all citizens can have their land rights recognized, whether they live in communal areas, informal settlements or on commercial farms,\u201d the South African President stressed.<\/p>\n

In his op-ed, Ramaphosa cites statistics based on a Land Audit by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. They state that 90 percent of land in South Africa belongs to individuals, companies and trusts, while the state owns the remaining 10 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf this 90 percent, individuals own 39 percent, trusts 31 percent, companies 25 percent, and community-based organizations four percent, with co-ownership at one percent,\u201d the president highlights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of farms and agricultural holdings 97 percent of the total agricultural holdings are owned by 7 percent of landowners.\u201d<\/p>\n

The figures, cited by Ramaphosa, show that \u201c72 percent of farms and agricultural holdings are owned by whites, 15 percent by colored citizens, five percent by Indians, and four percent by Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, Trump tweeted that he would ask Secretary of State Mike Pompeo\u00a0\u201cto closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers.\u201d\u00a0The South African government immediately responded, slamming Trump for a \u201cnarrow perception\u201d\u00a0which is\u00a0\u201cseeking to divide\u201d\u00a0the nation.<\/p>\n

The tweet came shortly after reports of the first private property seizures in the country\u2019s Northern province of Limpopo after the government\u2019s failed attempt to buy out the lands. South African authorities had reportedly tried to buy the property owned by Akkerland Boerdery Ventures for just 20 million rand ($1.4 million). The owners declined the government offer, saying the land was worth 200 million rand ($14 million).<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s tweet was followed by broader commentary from the US State Department. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said land reform\u00a0\u201cwould not be a good thing\u201d\u00a0and that it would send South Africa\u00a0\u201cdown the wrong path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later South African Foreign Affairs Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said that Trump\u2019s tweet was\u00a0\u201cbased on false information\u201d\u00a0and that her department would\u00a0\u201cseek clarification\u201d\u00a0from US diplomats.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.rt.com\/business\/436938-ramaphosa-defend-land-reform-trump\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAEL\u2019S COMMENT: So funny\u2026 the \u201cland grab\u201d was done by armed white colonizers! Redistributing it to black people who are descendants of abused and tortured original owners without compensation is only justice! And they should also seize not only the land but all wealth belonging to these people who accumulated huge fortunes due to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":297833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noproxy.rael.org\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}