Share

Law to bar foreign ownership of SA farms

Paarl - Foreign nationals will no longer be able to own land in South Africa once government’s land policy is finalised and passed into law, Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti said on Tuesday.

"All people who are foreign nationals will not own land, but will lease land on a long-term basis," he said.

Nkwinti was responding to a question during a "dialogue" with farm workers in Paarl.

The question had to do with foreign ownership of farms.

The minister said government had completed an audit of state-owned land, but was still busy with its audit of public and private land.

"Privately-owned land includes land which is owned by foreigners. We are busy auditing all of that land," he said.

When the audits are complete and government's policy is promulgated into law then "people who are foreign nationals will not own land, but will lease land on a long-term basis", said Nkwinti.

Nkwinti said the matter was being attended to by government.

Speaking earlier, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said the recently-announced R105 a day wage for farm workers was a minimum wage, and did not mean farmers could not pay more.

He said some farms involved in export production could afford to pay more than this.

Davies described agricultural labour as "an unorganised sector". "You are not organised in unions," he told around 200 farm workers who gathered at the venue for the event.

"If you get a sufficient number of people enrolled in a trade union, you have the right to invoke provisions of the Labour Relations Act," he said.

Davies noted that many of the people he was addressing wore red Fawu or white Bawusa T-shirts. He added: "Now go and negotiate, and get yourself a better wage!"

He said at some rural Western Cape clinics the biggest illness being treated was not HIV/Aids, but malnutrition.

Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said cheap labour was now a thing of the past.

"Cheap labour is no longer going to be tolerated," she said.

Earlier on Tuesday, a similar dialogue was held with farmers and commercial farming organisations.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.05
-0.8%
Rand - Pound
24.04
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.55
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.37
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.7%
Platinum
901.20
+0.5%
Palladium
997.97
-0.4%
Gold
2,206.11
+0.5%
Silver
24.64
-0.0%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,067
+0.6%
All Share
74,267
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,746
+2.0%
Industrial 25
103,647
+0.4%
Financial 15
16,482
-0.3%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders