Let’s call it: We’re wasting our time on land

One had to giggle at Cyril’s “we won’t be bullied”, making all the Friday headlines while still promoting a law that allows stepping in and taking somebody’s stuff.

If you ask most farmers who actually, y’know, farm, they’d probably be lowkey delighted with expropriation without compensation as it stands.

So much difficulty in the farming game comes from surrounding plots of land that are allowed to decay. Fire, theft, and wayward stock are all exacerbated by having unkempt land as a neighbour.

At least on paper, the system won’t allow any property in use to be expropriated without compensation.

The next laugh you may have is that if there is ever land worthy of expropriation, it tends to already belong to the state in some way.

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Fix what you already own

Look at your local parks and some other public amenities. If the whole principle of expropriation is to avoid urban decay and promote the economy, perhaps it would be a good idea to start fixing up the things the state already owns.

It feels more than a rug pull, it’s a full on diversion tactic. As if the biggest issue facing South Africa is that private ownership is causing urban decay.

Yes, it is one of a myriad of problems and certainly something worth looking at. Let’s just not pretend it’s anything close as important as we’re being led to believe. Let’s also not pretend that it will be anything as effective as we’re being led to believe.

It’s also nothing close to “theft” and the things Donald will have us believe.

The function of a structured state is not exclusively to prioritize privatization and ownership. There is a super array of elements that the state must consider in building its structure and being able to use unused land seems like a good idea.

So, let’s perish this thought of the country collapsing and rights being eroded. We can place it in the same bin as the thought of the state actually using any land it expropriates; it’s laughable.

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Will it change anything?

In much the same way as we listen to the Sona and think this could have been an email, we can look at the expropriation legislation and know that there’s nothing big to expect on any side of the divide.

At the very most, this just becomes another line item on the pretend sheet of government action with little real-world effect.

South Africa needs real action and we have the capacity for real action.

We have a land bank, municipalities with ridiculous budgets, and an open market. If the state could actually manage capital, avoid flushing budgets into salaries and push the entrepreneurial spirit, we would never have had to talk about expropriation.

We had all the building blocks, but at no point during all the debates was it ever shown which properties were problematic and in need of this legislation. It was just assumed, hey, you know what? The problem with South Africa is that we have private ownership of land that is not in use.

A kid unable to build something from a collection of Lego blocks will hardly benefit from throwing another block into the pile. At some point, you actually need to get building.

If nothing else, hearing the same thing over and over at SONA is just an indication that South Africa is not building or, at least, not building effectively.

Adding an extra tool to the mix of unused tools can’t be that inspiring. Let’s see, but you do have a right to life. Don’t risk it by holding your breath.

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