Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - April 2017 | Page 27

Perhaps more alarming is that in any district
identified by the Ministry as a “Redistribution Area”,
all farmers, regardless of citizenship, may only sell to
black buyers and, if none are found, the Ministry will
determine a value and buy the land. The farmer will
have no negotiation leverage; if he doesn’t agree to the
price his farm will be expropriated.
Then last month, we received the news from the
ANC’s Economic Transformation head, Enoch
Godongwana, that the party was looking at new taxes
on unoccupied land or land bought for speculative
purposes. The intention is to force owners to sell to
the government so it can fast-track the land reform
programme.
This while the “showpiece” Expropriation Bill
has been sent back to Parliament because, in its
current form, the president says, it does not meet
Constitutional requirements.
The government has underlined its intention to fast-
track economic transformation. This was reinforced in
the president’s State of the Nation address in February,
and the message driven home in the subsequent
Budget Speech when the Finance Minister used the
word “transformation” no fewer than 50 times.
Every right-minded South African knows there
needs to be a more even balance of opportunity and
www.reimag.co.za
ownership in this country. To my mind, though, it
appears to be short-sighted to remove the free market
system and punitively legislate the very industries that,
through taxation, keep the nation fed and financed.
The government’s core focus should be fixing the
economy by encouraging international investment
and offering incentives to local businesses to expand
and create employment, getting a handle on crime
and, perhaps most importantly of all, funnelling more
funds into creating an excellent education system that
produces youngsters ready for the business world.
Corporate South Africa is profit-driven and
dedicated to economic growth. It doesn’t really care
whether its stars are white, black or indeed purple, as
long as they get the job done, and there’s no profit for
anyone in a recession.
Writing reams of market-restrictive legislation is
not productive. Government’s time would be better
spent working with business to achieve what’s in the
nation’s long-term best interests rather than hoping
the “legislation fairy” will somehow magically fix
everything. News flash – it won’t.
RESOURCES
Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty
APRIL 2017 SA Real Estate Investor
23