Plans by President Ramaphosa : White farmers in South Africa, fear of expropriation

To view Francois Wilken, it is nothing less than the future of South Africa. "The government should not play with the food of the Nation", said the President of the society of agriculture AgriSa, the free state province of South Africa media. "We farmers can't produce, if the sword of expropriation hanging over us. It is not, that promises us security, and then on the stage declared, to destroy the industry.“

Hardly an issue of the South African society is polarized even 25 years after the end of Apartheid as the relics of the race policy. The rainbow nation with its 56 million inhabitants, is struggling to today with a huge gap between the Poor and the rich. Particularly visible are the traces of the colonial time, and Apartheid in the distribution of land: dark-Skinned South Africans were expelled from Parts of their homeland and forced to move.

The Constitution is to be changed

The question of how the Land reallocated is to be employed in South Africa since the transition to democracy. President Cyril Ramaphosa of the African national Congress (ANC) wants to deal with the issue now, in order to score points in the elections in may 2019. In its mid-January, presented choice program, he spoke of a Plan to accelerate the land reform", including expropriation without compensation, where appropriate".

Through an amendment to the Constitution of the grave historical injustice should be made during the rule of the white minority to undo. The aim was to give black citizens the possibility to earn their living.

The debate was further deepened in the deep social rift in South Africa. Since the death of Nelson Mandela will also be reconciling spirit is gone. Great is the fear of violent land occupations is like once in the neighbouring country of Zimbabwe, and the ongoing "race conflict".

Opposition speaks of the catastrophic policy of the ANC

The 66-Year-old Ramaphosa 2018 state since February chief. His victory in the upcoming elections is considered to be likely. The largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) accuses him of going with his policy in the over-heated land debate on voters catcher in the slums and on the Land.

The DA-leader Mmusi Maimane referred to the plans, also to expropriate without compensation, as a catastrophic policy, which will lead to lower investment and lower growth. "Expropriation is not a panacea against poverty, but it also ensures that this is worse," he told the daily mirror.

the debate is overdue: South Africa is the most affected by inequality affected the state, its Commission on human rights, according to the world. In the case of the election of Mandela as the first black President, 87 percent of the country were in the hands of a White man.

25 years later has changed very little. As the ANC came in 1994 to Power, he planned, in the first five years of the new democracy, 30 percent of the country's redistribution of wealth. The world Bank advised. Without success: in Particular, under Ramaphosas predecessor Jacob Zuma to power had abuse, corruption, and Clientelism of the important issues to be distracted.

Cyril Ramaphosa (66) since the age of 15. February 2018, South Africa's President.Photo: Nic Bothma/picture alliance /dpa

in 2017, the land reform became the ANC back into focus. A year later, the party adopted together with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Parliament, which supports the expropriation. The EEF Julius Malema represents the third-largest party and has declared the country to question relentlessly, to the point of honour. Great was the fear of the ANC to lose votes seems.

The Economist, and Africa, scientist Robert Kappel told the daily mirror: "Ramaphosa is driven to make his party the strongest force. The ANC has lost support. Especially in the young Generation, which may begin with the liberation movement in Power not so much anymore.“

many South Africans are seemingly other topics. Investigations by the South African Institute of Race Relations show that only four percent of the respondents are black South Africans that the land reform is one of the two most important issues that should concern the government. The most important concern of jobs, drug abuse and crime. In fact, the unemployment rate is 27 percent, nine million people are without a Job. Especially young people are affected.

experts fear that less investment will be

Even if the land question in South Africa polarized, many Black, rather, justice. Kappel estimates that not to be the "land expropriation per se, but of compensation". Also, the expert sees through Land seizures threatened the darbende economy.

Kappel suggests that the government is trying on the one hand by the reform-oriented trade and investment policy for international investment. "Are urgently needed, but they went back." On the other hand, without compensation, expropriation would show "that South Africa is not a Reform path, but a path of radicalisation". The confidence of the foreign investors would still shaken.

Always the warning voices that one may not end up like Zimbabwe: here, Too, was Ex-President Robert Mugabe will be louder, therefore, nearly 20 years ago with a land reform, the seizure of land by British settlers to compensate. Around 4000 farmers have been expropriated without compensation.

The led to a to a black, with the state apparatus verbandelte Elite was able to enrich at the expense of the farmers. On the other, the poorly educated population lacked the Knowledge and the experience to operate industrial agriculture.

Zimbabwe is now on food aid

the once prosperous Zimbabwe was instructed in a crisis-ridden state that is dependent on food aid from the UN. "A large farm to work as an industrial company. This may lead a farm worker, because you have to train in the long term,“ said Kappel.

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" This is a risk that South Africa is experiencing a fate like Zimbabwe, see also Wilken of AgriSa. He refers to the fact that approximately 70 of the population lives now in cities. The Nation should, therefore, behind the farmers. "We need the commercial and emerging farmers in South Africa."