Land ownership restrictions?

[garthu]

Related article here

Don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Pretty sure though that any potential investor to SA is now paying attention to this and in not such a hurry to sign that cheque.

Tried it in Zim also, didn't work. No one wants a 99 year lease on land... its meaningless really. If breached, it's off to court. But what to do in the meantime?

[Dave A]

Even us citizens should pay attention given this bit

Zuma said that government is currently examining three forms of land ownership in South Africa:

- State land held under leasehold for a predetermined period;

- Private land held under freehold with limitations;

- Foreign ownership limited to leasehold.

Who knows what limitations they've got in mind.

[tec0]

Well they must also remember that there are other far more powerful countries and if they need the land then they also have an alternative, and that alternative may not be the diplomatic approach. Rather; “it is yours “if” you can hang on to it” approach. I honestly think they must consider there standing and international image... Right now it is what it is...

[desA]

If only Zuma & his cronies knew how bad this move will be for SA.

Business will factor in the right moves into their game-plans. Long-term stability will suffer at the expense of short-term gains. Foreign investment plans will be temporary & will be done through nominee structures - ready to fly at the first hint of trouble. This is the way to do business in 3rd world nations.

[Justloadit]

Well Mozambique followed this approach,with huge detriment to local business. No one opened factories to employ the locals. Only recently have they began moving away from this approach, and considering unlimited time ownership. Businesses are again looking at investment.

When are they going to learn that you can not keep on taking other peoples money and effort with out giving something substantial in return!

[garthu]

Honestly i don't know why they bother to teach history? We are great at ignoring it!

[Dave A]

Long-term stability will suffer at the expense of short-term gains.

Are there any short term gains?

The only "gain" in sight would be so that government could buy land cheaper for redistribution. When you think what that actually means - there's been a drop in prices due to reduced demand - is it really a "gain?"

Shortsighted more like it

[Justloadit]

Are there any short term gains?

Yes there is, it ensures that the ruling party remain in power for another 5 years. Remaining in power after that is a future bridge to cross. Our neighbors have done this remarkably well, however if RSA goes that way, it will sink extremely fast. The only reason that the neighbors have survived that long is simply because they have been propped up by the local brothers.

In the near future the only ones offering a helping hand will be the Chinese, who will take full control of the land and ship the minerals out, and bring in their excess population to come live here.

[desA]

As posters above have mentioned - there are really no other short-term gains besides the nationalistic card & 'feel-good' aspects.

SE Asia follows this policy, to their detriment. Practically, the laws can be circumvented in various ways, in the short term - so they are really only a nuisance. The main problem is that any investors using these legal navigational aids tend to see their presence in a short-term way - ready to depart when required. This leads to a lack of long-term investor confidence & can introduce roller-coaster investment/divestment cycles.

Africa is Africa, however & the concrete-head & hard-of-hearing syndromes prevail...

[HR-Student]

if one looks at the ANc's original manifesto, it clearly states that ANC policy is socialistic in its approach. It was only with the intervention of the west that the ANC gang decided to 'compromise' by incorporating democracy into its policy. And im sure we are al familiar with th fact that socialism doesnt alow private ownership of property. Now the ANC is showing its true colors because it thinks it no longer needs the west anymore. Socialist China is here to catch them should the west leave completely.

[Butch Hannan]

The Chinese are already here and in big numbers. I live in Middelburg Mpumalanga and a walk through our CBD will show you that every third shop is either owned or run by Chinese. As for the rest of the shops in our town most of them sell a very large portion of Chinese products. The Chinese are already in control of our commercial structures.