Group grapples with expropriation topic
Alida de Beer
The second discussion in a series on land reform and expropriation without compensation was hosted on Monday by the George Business Chamber and the SA National Institute (Sani) for Land, Heritage and Human Rights. It was held at the
George Civic Centre.
The session, attended by business leaders and other stakeholders, took place in the form of small group discussions. Chamber chairman Dr Dennis Farrell and Sani chairman Prof Quinton Johnson acted as facilitators.
Discussions revolved around how expropriation without compensation, as proposed by government, can be done while still ensuring economic growth, agricultural productivity and food security. The groups grappled with challenges such as government's laxity to implement workable land reform and make dormant government land available for expropriation; the lack of farming and business mentoring and support for developing farmers; getting buy-in and support from the formal agricultural sector for land reform so that they will be willing to provide some sort of support; and ensuring that resources like water and funding are available when land is expropriated and carried over to developing farmers.
Ideas the groups came up with include possibly bringing back agricultural training colleges and even establishing an agricultural school in this area that provides tuition in Xhosa and/or English. This ties in with the George Municipality's long-term vision to establish George as an educational hub
(it has started a process to rezone land around the Garden Route Dam for higher educational purposes), which will stimulate economic activity. Urban and rooftop food gardens as well as community gardens were also mentioned as a way to enhance food security and the economy.
Delia Power, senior spatial planner at the municipality, said the municipality's future planning aims at densifying the city within the urban edge in order to optimise its services and infrastructure. Urban sprawl should also be discouraged so that agricultural space and the natural environment can be preserved, both of which are important economic drivers. Their spatial planning furthermore focuses on bringing poorer communities closer to their jobs on the one hand, but on the other hand also creating business nodes in poor areas so that jobs are available closer to home.
More follow-up discussions are to be held. Input from the group and various business chambers and municipalities in the Eden district was used to engage with the Parliamentary Constitutional Review Committee that started its public hearings in the Western Cape in Oudtshoorn yesterday, 1 August. The municipality’s future planning aims at densifying the city within the urban edge in order to optimise its services and infrastructure.