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A ceiling on landownership may be the precursor of restrictions on other assets. This is the logical conclusion if the ANC executes their latest policy decision on land reform. This policy decision provides that land ownership should be limited to 12 000 ha.

According to AfriBusiness CEO, Cornelius Jansen van Rensburg, the proposal will establish the principal that government could limit the ownership of assets in general. ‘In principle this proposal may be applied to, for example, capital, residential property and movable property.’

According to Jansen van Rensburg the ANC’s policy consideration in this context is irrational and arbitrary. ‘12 000 hectares of land in the Northern Cape, for example, do not represent the same level of productivity and value as 12 000 hectares of land in Gauteng.’

The ANC's wrongly believes that you can address inequality by restricting ownership, while the real challenge is a lack of ownership.

‘A ceiling on land ownership will not lift anyone out of poverty. The state should rather formalise informal settlements and transfer full ownership of RDP houses to individuals,’ Jansen van Rensburg said.

The ANC does not understand that ownership is a fundamental right that should not be limited. Throughout South Africa’s history, the state as an institution alienated the proprietary rights of individuals and communities, regardless of race. This legacy cannot be resolved by new forms of expropriation and restrictions on proprietary rights.

Issued by AfriBusiness