The expropriation bill

[I Robot]

Parliament to pass Expropriation Bill

11 March 2008

An expropriation Bill, which will give powers to government to expropriate land from farmers, will be passed in Parliament in June.

This is according to the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Ms Lulu Xingwana during the National Council of Provinces sitting in the North West today.

During the meeting with farmers and farms, members of the National Council of Provinces heard concerns from farmers and farm workers.

Ms Lulu Xingwana said that the expropriation would be in the public interest. She however insisted that people who did not utilise the land properly would have the land taken away from them.

Most people, who wanted to know about land claims, were told that land claims submitted before December 1998 would not be processed as the cut off date passed.

MEC for Agriculture in the North West Jan Serfontein said that government was buying a lot of farms to be used by emerging farmers.

However, emerging farmers were concerned that they were not given enough training to run their farms and thus fell short when doing their work.

He said that government was not only buying the land but would ensure that the land was administered. Farm workers also said that they felt they were being threatened by farmers.

Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) select committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs, Reverend Peter Moatshe, said that the committee believed that the farmers must be helped because there must be food security. They have to be helped with skills and administration in order for them to become successful, he said.

He added that the matter of farm workers had to be looked at seriously as agriculture was a challenging responsibility.

The National Council of Provinces is currently holding its Taking Parliament to the People in Ikageng, Potchefstroom.

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