Our preferred policy was initially a willing seller/willing buyer mechanism.
He attributes its failure to a blanket notion that it failed because it was bad land policy. That is untrue.
It failed because farmers artificially raised the value of farm land to an extent where it was unaffordable.
Contrary to right-wing propaganda and DA policy, redistribution of land is not about taking away land from the white population.
It is an economic remedy to biting poverty inherited from our racist past, including the land policies of previous governments.
There are progressive white farmers who understand the need for land redistribution and are willing to come up with a solution for all.
There are farmers who have willingly redistributed land and shared farming skills.
Secretary Pompeo warns of economic disaster for the SA economy if land redistribution continues. That can only happen if the US imposes economic sanctions against SA as happened with Zimbabwe.
A more rational approach would be for Pompeo to visit and interact with all South Africans.
He can win hearts by investing US farm skills in uplifting African food production through a new peace corp of skilled US farmers to bridge the gap in farming skills. — Wongaletu Vanda, via e-mail
READER LETTER | Pompeo blames victims of land theft
Image: Pixabay
The comments on land distribution policy in SA by the US secretary of state [Mike Pompeo] are a case of blaming the victim.
They also reflect a deep lack of knowledge of SA socioeconomic challenges.
We did not invent what he calls “seizure of land without compensation”. We are victims of seizure of land without compensation.
The Native Land Act of 1913 allocated land by race.
Black South Africans were allocated less than 13% of the land mass of the country.
This led to the brutal policies of forcible removal of black people from land then classified as white land by the truck loads, dumping families in barren Native Reserves.
SA cities became white cities and black people were tolerated in what were called locations on the fringes of town to provide cheap labour to white people.
Black people were not allowed to engage in commerce. Lucrative transporting of black workers was in white hands.
Agbiz welcomes Ramaphosa's plans on ports, Eskom, unhappy about land reform
Our preferred policy was initially a willing seller/willing buyer mechanism.
He attributes its failure to a blanket notion that it failed because it was bad land policy. That is untrue.
It failed because farmers artificially raised the value of farm land to an extent where it was unaffordable.
Contrary to right-wing propaganda and DA policy, redistribution of land is not about taking away land from the white population.
It is an economic remedy to biting poverty inherited from our racist past, including the land policies of previous governments.
There are progressive white farmers who understand the need for land redistribution and are willing to come up with a solution for all.
There are farmers who have willingly redistributed land and shared farming skills.
Secretary Pompeo warns of economic disaster for the SA economy if land redistribution continues. That can only happen if the US imposes economic sanctions against SA as happened with Zimbabwe.
A more rational approach would be for Pompeo to visit and interact with all South Africans.
He can win hearts by investing US farm skills in uplifting African food production through a new peace corp of skilled US farmers to bridge the gap in farming skills. — Wongaletu Vanda, via e-mail
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