How land expropriation may affect Jewish farmers

TALI FEINBERG

Trope is just one of many Jewish farmers in South Africa whose livelihoods and land, owned for generations, may very well be expropriated without compensation. That is according to calls by the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters to “review and amend Section 25 of the Constitution to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation”.

Says Trope: “I agree that something must be done as land ownership is unequal, but the current method of giving land to inexperienced farmers without financial backing means these farms have not been successful.

“The only successes I have seen are black businessmen buying farms, which they have made profitable with financial resources and business knowledge.”

For Trope, the biggest impact of the land expropriation issue is the uncertainty: “I can’t invest in my business, buy new machinery, build new stores or hire more people when things are so unsure,” he says. He has heard of farmers who are debt-free trying to gain more debt, so that expropriating their land will be more difficult.

Trope thinks that if expropriation without compensation does go ahead, “it will not be a Zimbabwe-style situation. President Ramaphosa is a farmer himself, and I have faith in him. The solution has to be something fair and viable.”

But for Isaac Jocum, a cattle farmer near Vryburg, the expropriation of some of his land more than 10 years ago brings up painful memories that he fears could be worse if there is no compensation. “The land was purchased by my grandfather in 1934 – I’m a third-generation farmer. When some of it was expropriated, it was an extremely unfair process and was not conducted according to prescribed legal process. Although I was compensated, I was forced into it.

“And the government never even notified me that it was happening – I heard about it from another farmer,” remembers Jocum.

For more than 10 years, the land lay untouched, and now Jocum rents it from the new landowners. “What people may not understand is that this is not just land – it is my livelihood, my home and my asset base.”

In the Cape, Charles Back, owner of Fairview and the Spice Route wine farms, is confident that land expropriation won’t affect him, as the title deeds of his land goes back to 1693. However, he is concerned about the knock-on effects of land claims, which would scare off overseas investors and affect all aspects of the economy.

“I think it is political grandstanding and would be very difficult to implement. If it is put into practice, it will be catastrophic for South Africa – even worse than what we saw in Zimbabwe,” he says.

While Back suffered a brutal attack and was left for dead on his farm a few weeks ago, he remains positive about the country and the role agriculture can play in uplifting communities. This can be seen on his farm, which is a central hub for jobs, satellite industries and small businesses. For example, by outsourcing his laundry and factory work to people in the area, he has empowered them to succeed.

This is one way that land expropriation could be implemented successfully, says Back. Another long-term solution that he suggests is joint ownership on successful farms. “Most farm workers do not want to own a farm,” says Back. “Commercial farming has incredibly high risks, while return on investment is slow – it is not the right industry for an impatient BEE programme.”

For Trevor Datnow, a game farmer near Kimberley, land expropriation is “a disaster in the making, and a sham”. He has seen 25 000 hectares of land near him claimed by the government still unused 20 years later and yet to be transferred to black farmers. In 2002, all landowners’ mineral rights were nationalised, and he is concerned that expropriation is one step away. One solution he suggests is long-term leases to white farmers, so that black owners feel secure that they own the land, and white farmers feel secure in the future of their business.

Leslie Zetler of Stellenbosch says: “We think it will rather impact farmers who own thousands of hectares and have done nothing with it.”

Zetler believes that foreigners should not be able to own land in South Africa, and feels it would be positive if expropriation brings down land prices.

Matthew Karan, a cattle farmer near Heidelberg, is not deeply concerned. For him, this is just “the EFF doing what it always does – creating hysteria. We are used to it.” From the farmers’ perspective, he believes there is a long road before farms are expropriated – for example, the government owns huge tracts of land, and it can start there.

In addition, he points out that if rural land is expropriated, so should tribal and urban land be reclaimed.

This is a point that urban planning and housing activist Gavin Silber emphasises: Land expropriation in rural areas and the ‘hornet’s nest’ of urban spatial integration are deeply linked.

He explains that while expropriation may appear to be something that only affects rural areas, in fact, it affects us all: “For example, property values along the Atlantic Seaboard have created great wealth for many in our community. I too am a beneficiary of this. But it has come at a great social cost. Our cities today are more divided than ever before. Workers in Sea Point who teach, run stores and look after children are being forcibly expelled to the periphery. What is being done to prevent this?

“Where social housing in the area has been proposed, many have opposed it and even more have stayed silent. Body corporates turn a blind eye to the ill-treatment of domestic workers.

“We cannot ignore spatial injustice, and the longer we don’t address it, the more radical people and politicians will get. If we want to have a say on land redistribution, we need to come to the table and state that the status quo is unsustainable,” he says.