Agri Africa says the motives behind Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti's comments regarding foreign land ownership in South Africa are unclear - as South Africa currently does not have a problem with foreign buyers crowding out local buyers.
Nkwinti said the principle is that foreign nationals should not own land in the country but should rather have a long lease of at least 30 years.
Agri Africa says foreign buyers are usually wealthy and the location of the properties they buy are in upmarket suburbs or investments like game farms, and this means there is minimal impact on prices or land availability for the general South African population.
It says if the minister's reasons are to draw attention away from the failure of the government's land reform programme, or to actively discourage investment by foreigners in agricultural land to safeguard national food security and simplify negotiations about future land reform initiatives, it would have serious consequences for investment and the country's credit rating.
