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Lungisile raised key issues that emerged over the past two days, concentrating on two themes, namely obstacles to land redistribution and what should be done.
Obstacles to land redistribution
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Condemnation of the willing buyer, willing seller principle. There seems to be broad consensus that this principle is one of the key obstacles to land delivery. Not everyone agrees, however, there is broad consensus
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The price of land is an obstacle. There is broad consensus that the price of land is too high and makes it difficult for the Department to budget for an effective land delivery programme.
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Foreign ownership of land not only makes it difficult for us to get land but also impacts on the price of the land. Because people come with foreign currency, they inflate prices for prime land in particular.
What should be done?
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Government should be given a right of first refusal to purchase land before it is offered for sale on the market.
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The state should not be limited to paying market prices for land. There must be a mechanism to arrive at a price for land that is not market-related. Leaving this to the market is not the way to go.
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The state should reclaim unused and underutilized land for redistribution.
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A land tax should be imposed on agricultural land, with the aim of bringing more land onto the market for redistribution.
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LRAD does not work and must be reviewed. If we are serious about land delivery, we should begin by addressing this.
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The target of 30% by 2014 is not enough. Together with the 13% of the Bantustans, by 2014 only 43% of the land will have been transferred. This is not enough. More than half the land will still be in white hands.
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The willing buyer, willing seller principle must be scrapped. Some people suggested that the principle that should prevail should be "one farmer, one farm" - "een boer, een plaas".
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Expropriation should be used and should be used effectively.
Presentation: Commission 1 - Land redistribution: Urban & Rural Development
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