Current crop of farmers all paid for their land

There are numerous questions to be answered about expropriation, writes John.

Acomment by Simphiwe last week caught my eye. He stated: “It’s shocking that most farmers don’t want to share land with their workers, claiming they bought it.”

Can he verify the above statement with facts?

Most, if not all, farmers have title deeds to the land they’re farming on. Farmers were never given agricultural land for free by the apartheid regime, but the land was bought from loans from the bank.

Definitely not “ill-gotten prop- erty and the proceeds of crime”.

The question is, what happens after expropriation?

Enormous expectations are being created by politicians such as Julius Malema, but these expectations could boomerang.

Will those who have been denied access to farms turn to violent protests, and barbaric land grabs a la Zimbabwe?

Farming is extremely expensive. Where will the money come from to assist the “new” farmers to farm the land productively?

Will the new farmers have the adequate farming skills and experience?

Who will foot the R160 billion bill owed to the banks by the present farmers, who, without an income, will not be able to? The state, or the new farmers?

Expropriation also has enormous economic implications with regard to property rights as per the constitution.

If the state takes over the land then every single bond against each and every property will have to be taken over by the state. The same goes for rates and taxes, water and electricity accounts, etc.

Municipalities, already struggling through massive fraud and corruption, will go bankrupt, as well as financial institutions.

Farmers will not get loans to improve and keep their farms going.

This will lead to high food prices, famine and starvation.