Head: Pushing land reform
Subhead: It’s reassuring that Ramaphosa highlighted his commitment to the issue in the ANC January 8 statement
I’m not sure how many of you folks read the ANC’s January 8 statement. It’s an important statement because the president outlines some of the policy priorities that he’s thinking about.
Regarding agriculture, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about a core issue that is key to boosting both inclusivity and ensuring we can achieve further growth in the sector — land reform. He affirmed his commitment to the process and said he wants to ensure it gains momentum, though he gave few details of how he planned to achieve that.
And there’s nothing wrong with that because, of course, the details of implementation fall under the ambit of the department of land reform & rural development. It has to help ensure the wishes of the president are carried out appropriately.
But I think the core aspect of Ramaphosa’s message was his ongoing commitment to accelerating land reform. I know many people who follow the land reform conversation get confused by such things as expropriation. But I’ll tell you this: land reform in South Africa remains based on market principles.
We discuss more in this week’s episode here:
