Depth report

　　

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Chairman of the African National Congress (ANC) Party, the ruling party in South Africa, recently announced that the party decided to *** to promote the land reform plan. A single word stirred up waves, and Ramaphosa’s *** decision became the focus of attention from all walks of life in South Africa. For a time, sensational reports such as "land nationalization", "economy will collapse", and "South Africa is the next Zimbabwe" appeared in the media.

Historical injustice has a long history

 　 To understand the land problem in South Africa, one must analyze the country’s special history, the period of apartheid. Since the first crew of the Dutch East India Company set foot on South Africa in 1652, European colonists successively established a discriminatory rule against black people in the following 300 years, that is, the apartheid system. Under this system, black and white races were forced to develop in isolation, and blacks were deprived of many legal rights, including land ownership. In 1913, the apartheid government promulgated the "Indigenous Land Law", delineating only 7.3% of the country's land area as black reserved land, and at the same time prohibiting blacks from buying, renting, and using land outside the reserved land. In 1994, the apartheid system in South Africa ended and the ANC government came to power. Statistics show that at the time, blacks, who accounted for 77% of South Africa's total population, owned only 4% of the country's land. The per capita arable land area occupied by blacks is only 0.1 hectares, but the per capita arable land area occupied by whites is about 1.3 hectares, a difference of 13 times. Therefore, the new government regards solving the problem of inequality in land ownership among races as one of its most important administrative tasks. In 1998, South Africa amended the "Land and Assistance Act" to establish the principle of "voluntary sale", funded by the government to help disadvantaged black groups buy land from the market.

Delayed land reform arouses public outrage

 　 So far, the South African government has purchased 4.9 million hectares of land for land redistribution, of which about 3.4 million hectares went to new land owners. However, based on the spirit of "negotiation and reconciliation," the economic policies and social structure of the white rule were not fundamentally shaken. The South African government’s mild soil improvement process has been slow due to the boycott of white farmers, insufficient government funding, and ethnic conflicts. Today, most of the farms and estates in South Africa are still owned by white people. In February this year, the South African government released a land audit report showing that whites occupy 72% of the 37 million hectares of land owned by individuals.

 　 In the face of the slow progress of the local improvement process, the majority of black people expressed dissatisfaction. They believe that the government's moderate stance on economic policy is to compromise with white vested interests. This makes people wonder that after successfully gaining power, the ANC government has long forgotten its ideals and feelings to join the revolution. At the same time, since the 2008 international financial crisis, South Africa's economy has not been able to embark on a sustained recovery track. Three stubborn diseases such as high unemployment, disparity between the rich and the poor, and the spread of poverty have long plagued South African society.

    Following the populist line, the Opposition Economic Freedom Fighter Party saw the growing resentment of the people, so it one-sidedly blamed South Africa's economic difficulties on uneven land distribution, and encouraged the government to legislate to promote free land expropriation and realize land redistribution through land nationalization. As a result, the land reform argument has become more and more marketable in South Africa in recent years, and the Economic Freedom Fighter Party has also taken this opportunity to emerge and continue to develop and strengthen the foundation of public opinion, becoming a force that cannot be underestimated in South Africa’s political arena.

***Land acquisition is finally released

    For the ruling ANC, how to balance the rising voice of the people and the need for smooth operation of the national economy has become an increasingly difficult issue. With the national election approaching next year, the ANC has to comply with public opinion and show a more active role in the land issue.

    In December 2017, at the 54th National Congress of the ANC, the party passed a resolution to promote "radical economic and social transformation" and supported Chapter 25 to promote the policy of free land expropriation. In February of this year, the South African Parliament passed a bill that would allow the expropriation of land without compensation. The motion was put forward by the Economic Freedom Fighters Party and won the support of the ruling ANC.

The interests of the parties are fiercely contested

 　 In order to eliminate market unease, Ramaphosa has repeatedly emphasized that the land reform will uphold the purpose of correcting historical injustices, promoting economic development, increasing agricultural production and ensuring food security. The ANC will guide the government to urgently launch a support plan for farmers to provide farmers with tools, fertilizers, seeds and other production materials, as well as technical guidance and financial support. However, the South African Agricultural Chamber of Commerce, an interest group representing the farmer class in South Africa, is obviously skeptical. The organization has issued multiple statements saying that allowing land forcibly "opens the Pandora's Box" and will directly encourage ordinary people to invade and occupy land at will. Since the beginning of this year, there have been many cases of illegal land occupation and farm invasions across South Africa, which poses a huge risk to agricultural production.

    Market analysts believe that the South African government should act cautiously and take into account investor confidence in the process of promoting land redistribution, and should not allow radical policies to harm the country’s economic prospects. Kirsten, director of the Economic Research Center at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, pointed out that land is an important part of South Africa’s national economy. Forcible expropriation of land will cause the value of land to plummet. Dilemma ultimately poses a huge risk to the banking system. Former Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs Gujile Nkunti firmly believes that by promoting comprehensive land reforms, so that the majority of South African people can equitably enjoy the right to use land, will greatly release the potential for economic growth and stimulate South African people to participate in the national economy. Enthusiasm for construction. However, for some black people, "land expropriation" is a false proposition. At a National Assembly hearing in July, the representative of the traditional tribal leader, Kolly Kumala, insisted that the blacks just wanted to return their own land. Land reform is not a simple economic issue. There is also a strong national sentiment brewing behind it. In Kolly's eyes, land is not only a symbol of wealth, but also the cultural tradition of the tribe's ancestors who have lived and reproduced for generations.

    There is a view that the urbanization of South Africa is developing rapidly, large tracts of land are currently idle, and most people do not have the will to engage in agricultural production. Even if the land is successfully redistributed and most black people become the owners of the land, what benefits can it bring? Many black people in South Africa have similar questions. At a recent seminar on land reform issues, Hisoso, a law student from the University of Pretoria, asked straightforwardly: "Why should I take the land?" As a young man who has never been exposed to agricultural production, even now If the land is allocated, there is no knowledge of agricultural production, no start-up capital, no technology and management experience, and it is impossible to achieve success. "In contrast, what we want is to be able to find a place in the modern mature economic system. We hope that the country's economic development prospects remain stable, so that entrepreneurs have confidence in the future, expand recruitment, and provide more job opportunities." Hisoso said.