South Africa’s ANC starts to expropriate land without compensation
The ANC leadership of Ekurhuleni, a large make-shift "metro" cobbled together from various towns and cities east of Johannesburg, has voted to ahead with the country's first "expropriation without compensation" - known by the acronym EWC.
Published: October 6, 2018, 9:46 am
The black ANC mayor of the sprawling urban area, Mzwandile Masina, was jubilant in announcing that the first properties belonging to white owners would by confiscated, after the model of Zimbabwe’s former dictator, Robert Mugabe. On Thursday, he declared:
“Ekurhuleni Council has resolved on the Expropriation of Land without Compensation of four properties in the City. We are testing the limits of Section 25 of the Constitution in order to accelerate inclusive housing development for our people. There is no turning back!”
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in the council voted against the resolution expropriating four properties. Council leader Philip de Lange released a statement, saying:
“We believe starting the process of expropriation without compensation will not help deliver more housing, as the ANC simply do not have the political will to serve the people. Since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the housing backlog has grown exponentially, because of the ANC’s lack of housing delivery and rampant corruption. What will change now, as the metro is already notoriously slow to hand out title deeds to residents?
“As the DA, we believe in ownership. Ownership brings not only the security of tenure but it also empowers people to use this asset to gain surety of capital, and it creates generational wealth.”
The four properties to be confiscated from their owners are:
• PTN 40 of Farm Rietfontein 63-IR‚ which is 4.4ha and privately owned;
• REM 2 Elandsfontein 90-IR‚ which is 101.2ha and privately owned;
• The remainder of Extent Benoni 77-IR‚ which is 205ha and government-owned; and
• PTN 406 Farm Driefontein 85-IR‚ which is 33.6ha and privately owned.
None of the three private owners has yet reacted to the municipality’s decision. However, FWM spoke to Mr. Jaap Kelder, a businessman and former town councillor from the East Rand, as the area has been known for more than a century.
“I am extremely worried by this decision,” said Kelder. “Expropriation is a serious problem. No person of sane mind would want to invest in South Africa, knowing that he might be expropriated by our radical government.
Asked about the effect on property values, he replied: “Values are simply going to drop. Nobody wants to live next to a squatter camp. This is what is going to happen to the expropriated pieces of land; they will be turned into squatter camps.
It has already happened to the suburb of Glen Marais. A crowd of blacks simply invaded the land and put up shacks, right up to the supermarket. Nobody wants to live there anymore.”
The decline of South Africa’s mining industry is also creating opportunity for expropriation. “Ekurhuleni has a lot of mine land; some of those companies have been liquidated, now you can simply squat on the old mine land and the municipality will expropriate it for you, ” said Kelder.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
South Africa’s infrastructure 30 years after the end of Apartheid
LondonHating South Africa was part of growing up in North London in the 1980s. Pelle Taylor and Patrick Remington from Two Raven Films, recently interviewed South Africans about the decline of the country after Apartheid ended.
Nigerian President: More weapons for Ukraine end up in Africa
LagosSome time ago, FWM reported on arms deliveries to Ukraine, which shortly afterwards were resold on the Internet. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has warned that "weapons used in the war in Ukraine are gradually leaking into the region" and called for strengthened border security.
Namibia sees opportunity to attract German energy refugees
Windhoek"The former German colony, Namibia wants to help Germany in its energy crisis". This is how an article in the online edition of a German newspaper recently began about Namibia's new "Digital Nomad" visa. The six-month visa is ideal for long-term holidaymakers. And for professionals who have their office on their laptop and can work from anywhere.
Uneven global population growth reaches 8 billion
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), we celebrated the 8 billionth day* on November 15. The planet's population is still increasing dramatically, albeit at a decreasing pace.
French fuel debacle spills over to Senegal
DakarThe recent events at the French embassy in Burkina Faso were yet another demonstration against France on the African continent after France was ousted from Mali. All it took was a rumour to attract the sympathy of the population and demonstrators to head to the French Embassy.
New South African drone to compete with Turkey’s Bayraktar
PretoriaThe South African defense company Milkor unveiled its Milkor 380 reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is expected to become a competitor to Turkey's Bayraktar and Anka drones.
Bucking the trend: Uganda bans work by LGBT group
KampalaThe Ugandan government has banned the activities of a local non-governmental organization that campaigns for the rights of sexual minorities. According to a senior official, the organization worked illegally in the African country.
South Africa: 82 suspects arrested after a mass rape
KrugersdorpDozens of black men ambushed a film crew at an abandoned mine near Johannesburg on Friday. They raped eight models between the ages of 19 and 35. As they fled, the police shot dead two suspects and 82 other people were arrested.
BRICS expansion on the cards
More and more emerging countries are considering joining the BRICS group, which is seen as the major emerging countries' counterweight to the US-led West and the G7. Especially in times like these, this is also a clear signal to Washington.