agri Nuus/News
Draft Regulation of Agricultural Landholdings Bill
published for comment The Draft Regulation of Agricultural Landholdings Bill was published for comment on 17 March. Written comments must be submitted within 30 days of the date of publication.
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ANNELIZE CROSBY, ADVISOR: LEGAL AND LAND AFFAIRS AND PARLIAMENTARY LIAISON, AGRI SA
gri SA has written to the directorgeneral of the department of rural development and land reform to request more time for submitting comments. Agri SA has already prepared draft comments and circulated them among affiliations for their
input. Senior counsel will also be sought to provide an opinion on the constitutionality of certain aspects of the Bill. The Bill has three main objectives: • To establish a register of ownership of agricultural land; • To prohibit foreign owners from acquiring land in South Africa; and • To set ceilings on the ownership of agricultural land. The Bill is likely to meet with much resistance. The constitutionality of certain
of the provisions is questionable. It will be costly to implement and the setting-up of the commission, the gathering of data and the determination of ceilings per district are likely to take a very Annelize Crosby long time. Only after all of these steps have been taken the ceilings will be able to be implemented. This policy is likely to deliver fragmented pieces of land spread across the furthest reaches of a district. Small parcels may end up being ‘sliced-off’ larger landholdings with little or no access to natural resources, infrastructure or services. This seems to be contrary to good agricultural practice and planning policy.
agri APRIL • MEI/MAY ‘17 bladsy/page
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