Land proposal seen as a quick fix

A CONTROVERSIAL proposal that commercial farmers hand over half of their land to their farm workers has been described as a band-aid or quick-fix response to a festering problem in South Africa.

The proposal comes from Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti.

Nkwinti's spokesman, Mtobeli Mxotwa, said the minister had four years ago asked agricultural stakeholders to come up with submissions on land reform and, when nothing was presented, he took the political decision to put the proposal forward earlier this year.

"The stakeholders have been given a year until April 2015 to comment on the proposal on how to redistribute land democratically and fairly. At the moment, 87% of the 82 million hectares of agricultural land is owned by white farmers," he said. - Cindy Preller