No land for foreigners
AUCKLAND PARK – Proposed Land Holding Bill has the potential to drive away foreign investors, according to Peter Baur of UJ.
President Jacob Zuma announced the new Land Holdings Bill during his 2015 State of the Nation Address in Cape Town.
The Bill states that foreign nationals will be classed as non-citizens and unable to own land in South Africa.
Peter Baur, senior lecturer at the Department of Economics and Econometrics at the University of Johannesburg, said the new Bill is restrictive to foreign nationals.
According to Baur, not everyone in South Africa is able to buy land.
“If someone is to invest in a country, they want some return and to have a home. It doesn’t make sense to deny investors land,” said Baur.
Baur said potential investors who may be considering South Africa versus a number of other countries may potentially choose to invest elsewhere.
“What type of people will we be attracting to a country? It will just be those who do not have much commitment to the country. This may cause the rise of conflicts, corruption and bribery as well.”
As it stands, foreigners are allowed to have a long-term lease of land between 30 and 50 years.
In a statement released by the Presidency on 14 February, foreign nationals are defined as “non-citizens as well as juristic persons whose dominant shareholder or controller is a foreign controlled enterprise, entity or interest. Hence, not all immigrants to South Africa will be excluded from land ownership.”
Presidency spokesperson Mac Maharaj said, “The Bill will soon be sent to Cabinet for approval after which there will be a process of public consultation.”
Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said Cabinet is still to decide whether the announced ban on foreign land ownership will apply on all categories of land.
Hanekom added that the ban would not affect the rights of current land owners and should not be seen as a threat to foreign investment.
“It is not unusual. In fact many, many countries in the world do not allow foreign ownership of land, including developed countries,” he said.
The proposed law also looks to limit the size surface of land an individual may own to a maximum 12 000 hectares.
The land over the set size surface will be bought by government.
What’s your take on the proposed Land Holdings Bill?
