The South African government has begun the process of seizing land from white farmers.

Local newspaper City Press reports two game farms in the northern province of Limpopo are the first to be targeted for unilateral seizure after negotiations with the owners to purchase the properties stalled.

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• South African farmers fearing seizures try to offload land

While the government says it intends to pay, owners Akkerland Boerdery wanted 200 million rand ($20.8 million) for the land — they're being offered just 20 million rand ($2.08 million).

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These farms are on the goverment's #farmlist that ⁦@afriforum⁩ exposed. And yet government still denies that the list exists... but it is now clear that government is lying to the public. https://t.co/U40G0U1GIv — Kallie Kriel (@kalliekriel) August 19, 2018

"Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm's keys to the state," a letter sent to the owners earlier this year said.

Akkerland Boerdery obtained an urgent injunction to prevent eviction until a court had ruled on the issue, but the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs is opposing the application.

"What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires," AgriSA union spokeswoman Annelize Crosby told the paper.

It comes as the South African government pushes ahead with plans to amend the country's constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

The seizures are intended to test the ability of the government to take land under existing laws, which the ruling African National Congress has previously stated is allowable if "in the public interest".

Earlier this month, City Press reported the government had drawn up a list of 139 farms it planned to seize "to test out" section 25 of the constitution.

The newspaper said employees at the department had been ordered to press ahead with the process at the Land Claims Court.

If the seizures go ahead, it would be the first time the state refuses to pay market value for land. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC has followed a "willing seller, willing buyer" process to redistribute white-owned farms to blacks.

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A 2017 government audit found white people owned 72 per cent of private farmland in South Africa. According to the 2011 census, there are about 4.6 million white people in South Africa, accounting for 8.9 per cent of the population.

African National Congress spokesman Zizi Kodwa would not reveal details of the farms targeted and attempted to play down investor fears, saying the proposed seizures were "tied to addressing the injustices of the past".

"Over time I think the markets as well as investors will appreciate that what we are doing is creating policy certainty and creating the conditions for future investment," he told City Press.

Afriforum, a civil-rights group representing the white Afrikaner minority, subsequently released what it claimed to be a leaked list of 190 farms "being circulated in the department", inviting farmers to check if they were on it and asking them to get in touch "so that we can prepare for a joint legal strategy".

The government hit back, with department spokeswoman Linda Page telling News24 the list was a fake. "We don't know where they got it from," she said. "There is no truth to this document."

News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson slammed Afriforum for "disgusting fearmongering in the highest degree". "Will Afriforum take action against (deputy CEO) Ernst Roets for distributing fake news?" he tweeted. "Will they apologise? We need cool heads — not arsonists — in this debate."

On Sunday, Mr Roets tweeted that the two farms — Salaita and Lukin — were the first two names on Afriforum's list.

"So the debate about the authenticity of the list is settled then?" he said. "We hope that the gravity of the state's plans for expropriation is understood and that people will see through the dishonesty of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development.

"We hope that the attempts to discredit the legitimacy of the list has now been proven to be malicious for good. We shouldn't be misled by those who sing Kumbaya while the state is planning to expropriate property."

AgriSA had described Afriforum's release of the list as "irresponsible" and "inflammatory", saying "cursory background research showed" several inaccuracies, including that a number of the farms were joint ventures co-owned by black people.

Earlier this month, cattle farmer Jo-an Engelbrecht told the ABC's Foreign Correspondent his farm just outside Johannesburg was now "worth zero".

"We had several auctions in the last two or three weeks cancelled because there was no people interested in buying the land," he said. "Why would you buy a farm to know the government's going to take it?"</s>The South African government have begun their seizure of white-owned farms as it's been revealed the first land-grab was a game farm in the northwest of the country, that was annexed after negotiations came to a halt when the government offered the owner just ten percent of the asking price.

Johan Steenkamp and Arnold Cloete, the owners of Akkerland Boerdery, a hunting range, in Limpopo asked for 200million rand (£10.7million) but were only offered 20million rand (£1.07million).

A letter sent to the company earlier in the year said 'Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm's keys to the state.'

The farm took out an urgent injunction to prevent eviction but the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs refused his application.

Mr Steenkamp told Newsweek that the decision was made on 'very short notice' during a public holiday. He said he was given notice to hand the keys over to his farm within seven days.

Annelie Crosby, spokeswoman for the agricultural industry association AgriSA, told the Johannesburg based CityPress: 'What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires'

ANC spokesman ZiZi Kodwa said: 'Over time I think the markets as well as investors will appreciate that what we are doing is creating policy certainty and creating the conditions for future investment'.

He would not reveal details of the farms being targeted, but has attempted to calm investor fears.

Since Cyril Ramaphosa's election earlier this year, tensions in white farming communities have been rising as the new President is committed to land expropriation.

ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe last week said 'You shouldn't own more than 25,000 acres of land.

'Therefore if you own more it should be taken without compensation.

A record number of white farmers have put their land up for sale as the government has been accused of earmarking almost 200 farms for seizure from their white owners as the chair of the African National Congress said the state should take land from those who own more than 12,000 hectares.

AfriForum, a lobby group which mainly represents white South Africans, claimed to have a list of 195 farms which the government was planning to seize.

But the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform denied the claim, saying there was 'no truth to this document', News 24 reported.

More than two decades after the end of apartheid, white people still own most of South Africa's land.

Ownership patterns remain highly emotive as the government has been slow to transfer land to the black majority after centuries of colonial and racial oppression.

The ANC's plans to amend the constitution to redistribute land have been interpreted negatively by some investors, who see them as undermining property rights.

The ruling party has sought to assuage those fears by saying that land reform will follow a parliamentary process.

'You shouldn't own more than 12,000 hectares of land and therefore if you own more, it should be taken without compensation,' ANC Chairman Gwede Mantashe, who is also the country's mines minister, told News24 in an interview published on Wednesday.

Linda Page, spokesperson for the department of land reform, said it is legal for ministers to intervene the law makes provision for the minister to intervene to purchase if it's for the purpose of land reform.

Since 2007, a total of 23 cases have been finalised, seven in Limpopo, one in KwaZulu-Natal, seven in Limpopo, 14 in Mpumalanga and one in the Northern Cape.</s>South Africa's president has declared it is time to 'correct a past wrong' by seizing land from white farmers - and a £10million family ranch is among his first targets.

President Cyril Ramaphosa wants to take lands from white farmers without compensation and redistribute them to black farmers to make up for the injustice of apartheid.

He said at a farmers' conference on Monday that land reform was necessary to 'correct a past wrong.'

'It has required that we confront the injustices of the past, acknowledge our weaknesses and shortcomings, and seek a sustainable path towards a just and inclusive future,' Ramaphosa said.

'This is the time for South Africans to find each other, not fight each other.'

Since the 1994 end of apartheid - a system of racial segregation - the South African ruling party has followed a 'willing-seller, willing-buyer' model under which the government buys white-owned farms for redistribution to black farmers.

But progress has been slow and it appears Ramaphosa wants to more vigorously force the pace of change.

His government has begun the process of seizing farms where negotiations over compensation have failed.

Johan Steenkamp and Arnold Cloete, co-owners of the Akkerland Boerdery hunting farm in Limpopo province, said they were ordered to hand over their land after talks to buy it at a tenth of the price broke down.

Steenkamp and Cloete asked for 200million rand (£10.7million) for their reserve but were only offered 20million rand (£1.07million).

A letter they received earlier in the year said: 'Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm's keys to the state.'

The farmers have obtained an injunction, which was opposed by the government, to prevent eviction until a court rules on the case.

Mr Steenkamp told Newsweek that the decision to take his land was made on 'very short notice' during a public holiday.

He said he was given notice to hand the keys over to his farm within seven days.

Annelie Crosby, spokeswoman for the agricultural industry association AgriSA, told the Johannesburg based CityPress: 'What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires.'

Government spokesman ZiZi Kodwa said: 'Over time I think the markets as well as investors will appreciate that what we are doing is creating policy certainty and creating the conditions for future investment'.

South Africa's state-owned Land Bank has warned that the government could end up with a bill of $2.8billion in default payments if its rights are not protected.

Land Bank Chairman Arthur Moloto said in the company's 2018 annual report that the bank has approximately 9billion rand of debt, which includes a standard market clause on 'expropriation' as an event of default.

Moloto said if expropriation without compensation were to materialise without protection of the bank's rights as a creditor, it would be required to repay 9billion rand immediately.

Since Cyril Ramaphosa took power, tensions in white farming communities have been rising as he has committed to a programme of land expropriation.

African National Congress chairman Gwede Mantashe last week said: 'You shouldn't own more than 25,000 acres of land.

'Therefore if you own more it should be taken without compensation.'

A record number of white farmers have put their land up for sale as the government has been accused of earmarking almost 200 farms for seizure.

But the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform denied the claim, saying there was 'no truth to this document', News 24 reported.

The South African constitution contains a section which allows the government to seize land from farmers, but says that fair compensation must be paid.

However, the ANC, the ruling party, is believed to be trying out 'test cases' to see whether the land can be taken without compensation if it is deemed to be 'in the public interest.'

If such cases fail, it has threatened to amend the constitution to remove the compensation clause.

A program of land seizures in nearby Zimbabwe in the 1990s sent the country into an economic spiral from which it has never fully recovered.

Farm union bosses say a record number of farmers are trying to sell their land before the seizures begin but that nobody is buying, making the land effectively worthless.

The ANC has sought to assuage those fears by saying that land reform will follow a parliamentary process.

'You shouldn't own more than 12,000 hectares of land and therefore if you own more, it should be taken without compensation,' ANC Chairman Gwede Mantashe, who is also the country's mines minister, told News24 in an interview published on Wednesday.

Linda Page, spokesperson for the department of land reform, said it is legal for ministers to intervene the law makes provision for the minister to intervene to purchase if it's for the purpose of land reform.

Since 2007, a total of 23 cases have been finalised, seven in Limpopo, one in KwaZulu-Natal, seven in Limpopo, 14 in Mpumalanga and one in the Northern Cape.</s>(NEWS.COM.AU) — THE South African government has begun the process of seizing land from white farmers.

Local newspaper City Press reports two game farms in the northern province of Limpopo are the first to be targeted for unilateral seizure after negotiations with the owners to purchase the properties stalled.

While the government says it intends to pay, owners Akkerland Boerdery wanted 200 million rand ($18.7 million) for the land — they’re being offered just 20 million rand ($1.87 million).</s>The South African government has begun the process of seizing white-owned farmland, reportedly filing legal papers seeking to expropriate two farms for one-tenth of their estimated value.

The filings, involving two game farms in the northern province of Limpopo, come as the African National Congress government is seeking to amend the country’s constitution to allow outright seizures of land with no compensation. The ANC’s leader also has recently argued that pure expropriation is allowed anyway now “in the public interest.”

According to the local City Press in South Africa, the Akkerland Boerdery wants 200 million Rand for the two pieces of land (about $13.8 million), as it had been assessed in 2011.

But the government wants to take it for 20 million, without the benefit of a court’s judgment of the land’s value — something supposedly legally guaranteed.

“What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires,” AgriSA union spokeswoman Annelize Crosby told the paper.

The seizures are part of a broad program of land redistribution that the post-Apartheid government has committed to speeding up, saying the country’s current wealth distribution reflects theft from black tribes under the whites-only governments of the early- and mid-20th century.

A 2017 government audit found that whites, who are 9 percent of South Africa’s population, own 72 percent of the country’s private farmland.

Section 25 of South Africa’s current Constitution allows for land seizures with compensation, but the City Press reported that the ANC-dominated government had drawn up a list of 139 farms it planned to seize “to test out” that provision.The Akkerland Boerdery was on that list, which the government denied was authentic.

But if the ANC gets its way on another front, Akkerland might not even get the 20 million Rand.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said three weeks ago, after a two-day ANC meeting, that the country’s dominant party will push ahead to amend the constitution to allow for pure expropriation of land, according to a report in News Corp Australia.

“It has become patently clear that our people want the constitution to be more explicit about expropriation of land without compensation, as demonstrated in public hearings,” Mr. Ramaphosa said in a video message to “fellow South Africans, comrades, friends.”

The South African parliament voted in February to send its Constitutional Review Committee a motion to work on such a measure introduced by the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters party with ANC support.

Mr. Ramaphosa said the ANC would make sure the amendment “outlines more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected.”

But in another warning shot to white farmers and a possible foreshadowing of Seizures even beyond Akkerland Boerdery, the president hinted that the government might not even see itself as needing that amendment.

A “proper reading” of the constitution and its current property clause, he said, “enables the state to effect expropriation of land with just and equitable compensation, and also expropriation without compensation in the public interest.”

Mr. Rampahosa, defending that position, said that the state having the power to seize property for no compensation will encourage economic growth.

“The ANC reaffirmed its position that a comprehensive land reform program that enables equitable access to land will unlock economic growth by bringing more land in South Africa to full use and enable the productive participation of millions more South Africans in the economy,” he said.</s>South Africa’s hard-left government has begun forcibly seizing white-owned farmland, at the same time as extreme gun control measures are introduced to confiscate guns from the people.

Johannesburg-based newspaper City Press reported a letter was sent to owners Akkerland Boerdery that said: “Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm’s keys to the state.”

Akkerland Boerdery immediately took out an urgent injunction to prevent eviction until a court had ruled on the issue, but the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs has refused the application.

The Express reports: Annelie Crosby, spokeswoman for the agricultural industry association AgriSA, told City Press: “What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires.”

ANC spokesman ZiZi Kodwa refused to reveal details of the farms being targeted and has attempted to cal investor fears, adding the proposed seizures were “tied to addressing the injustices of the past”.

He told City Press: “Over time I think the markets as well as investors will appreciate that what we are doing is creating policy certainty and creating the conditions for future investment.”

Tensions among South Africa’s white farming community has been escalating since the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as President earlier the year, who committed his African National Congress (ANC) to land expropriation.

Last week, ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe sparked panic among the farming community when he said: “You shouldn’t own more than 25,000 acres of land.

“Therefore if you own more it should be taken without compensation.

“People who are privileged never give away privilege as a matter of a gift.

“And that is why we say, to give you the tools, revisit the constitution so that you have a legal tool to do it.”

A record number of white South African farmers have put their land up for sale amid fears the ruling party is considering confiscating properties bigger than 25,000 acres.

The government was accused of drawing up a list of almost 200 farms it allegedly wants to seize from white farmers, with AfriForum, a civil rights group representing the white Afrikaner minority, adding the document was being circulated by ministers as the ruling powers prepare to implement the policy.

It invited farmers to check if they were on it and urged them to make contact “so we can prepare a joint legal strategy”.

But the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform denied the list was real with spokeswoman Linda Page telling News24: “We don’t know where they got this from. There is no truth in this document.”

On Sunday, Afriforum CEO Ernest Roets confirmed that the two farms – Salaitna and Lukin – were the first two to be targeted.

He said: “So the debate about the authenticity of the list is settled then?

“We hope that the gravity of the state’s plans for expropriation is understood and that people will see through the dishonesty of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development.

“We hope that the attempts to discredit the legitimacy of the list has now been proven to be malicious for good. We shouldn’t be misled by those who sing Kumbaya while the state is planning to expropriate property.”

AgriSA has labelled Afriforum’s decision to release the list as “irresponsible” and inflammatory” dying “cursory background research” showed several inaccuracies, including that a number of farmers were joint ventures co-owend by black people.

Earlier this month, cattle farmer Jo-an Engelbrecht told ABC that his farm just outside Johannesburg was now “worth zero”.

He said: “We had several auctions in the last two or three weeks cancelled because there was no people interested in buying the land.

“Why would you buy a farm to know the government’s going to take it?”</s>White South African Farmers Flee After Government Leaders Suggest They’re About To Confiscate Land

A record number of farms are hitting the market in South Africa as white farmers try desperately to offload land and leave the country before the government confiscates their acreage.

According to a report in the Sunday Express, the African National Congress (ANC) — South Africa’s ruling party — suggested last week that it is considering confiscating farmland from white farmers without compensation. In a meeting on “reforming land ownership,” several civil servants claimed that its time to “expropriate” land from the country’s white farmers in reparations for Apartheid.

ANC’s chairman Gwede Mantashe “sparked panic” when he agreed with reparations activists, telling a crowd that no white landowner should be allowed to control more than 25,000 acres.

“You shouldn’t own more than 25,000 acres of land,” Mantashe said. “Therefore if you own more it should be taken without compensation.” – READ MORE</s>Tensions among South Africa’s white farming community are threatening to reach breaking point, particularly since the election of Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year. On July 31, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had only been elected into office in February, confirmed his African National Congress (ANC) party would pass an amendment to the country’s constitution to allow the seizure of white-owned farmland without compensation. Mr Ramaphosa claimed the new amendment was designed to “outline more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be affected”. Last week, ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe sparked panic among the farming community when he said that any farmers owning more than 25,000 acres of land would have it taken from them without compensation. The South African government has now started seizing land from white farmers, initially targeting two game farmers in the northern province of Limpopo after talks with the owners Akkerland Boerdery broke down over a huge differences in its estimated value.

They had wanted 200m rand (£16.7m) for the land, but the government were only willing to offer them just a tenth of that at 200m rand (£1.67m). Alexander C. R. Hammond is a researcher at HumanProgress.org, a project by US libertarian think tank The Cato Institute, and raged that South Africa is in danger of going down the same path as Zimbabwe did in 2000. Then-dictator Robert Mugabe began chaotic land seizures of 23m acres from white owned farms that led to riots, the killings of farmers, famine and economic collapse, which saw the daily inflation rate average hit 98 percent at its peak in 2008 and cost the crisis-hit country $20bn. Writing for US international affairs magazine The National Interest, Mr Hammond said: “South Africa is beginning to head down the same path toward social and economic disaster that its northern neighbour Zimbabwe took eighteen years ago.

“Violence became common as five white farm owners and dozens more black farm workers were killed. “Then, food shortages devastated the Zimbabwean people as food production in the nation that was once dubbed the ‘breadbasket’ of Africa, fell 60 percent within ten years. “And finally, the economy was ruined as the land grab induced hyperinflation that peaked in 2008. “In 2009, the Zimbabwean economist Eddie Cross estimated that legalising seizures of white farmland with no compensation cost Zimbabwe more than $20bn.” Mr Hammond argued that the danger signs are already there, with reports from the South African Police and the Transvaal Agricultural Union - a group representing the interests of white farmers - revealing an increase in the number of attacks on white farmers.

Between January and March 2019, there were 109 attacks and 15 murders on white farms, averaging one death every five days, with Mr Hammond arguing that President Ramaphosa’s amendment will inevitably lead to increased violence as land seizures become commonplace. He added that taking land away from “productive and knowledgeable farmers” and handing it to those unfamiliar with the industry will lead to a slump in productivity. Mr Hammond claimed that some experts are predicting that South Africa could already be heading towards hyperinflation - just as Zimbabwe did a decade ago. South Africa’s unemployment rate is at a 15-year high of 27.2 percent and will likely deteriorate further as workers on expropriated farms become unemployed.</s>White farmers in South Africa are trying to flog their land as fears grow that the government is about to start a widespread campaign of seizures.

Union bosses say a record number of properties are for sale but nobody is buying, making the properties effectively worthless.

Agri SA union, which represents mainly white commercial farmers, has warned that such seizures will deter investment, cause job losses, and may rob South Africa of the ability to feed itself.

Meanwhile two farms in the north of the country have reportedly become the first targets for seizures after talks between the government and owners about buying the land broke down.

Akkerland Boerdery, the owners of two game reserves in Limpopo, told City Press that the government asked to buy their land but was only willing to offer a tenth of the price.

When the offer was refused, ministers allegedly sent a letter which said: 'Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm's keys to the state.'

If the land is seized it will be the first time that the South African government has refused to pay market value for land.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC has followed a 'willing seller, willing buyer' process to redistribute white-owned farms to blacks.

But according to a government audit last year, 72 per cent of farmland in South Africa is still owned by whites, despite them making up 9 per cent of the population.

That statistic prompted Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president who succeeded Jacob Zuma last year, to commit to a program of land expropriation.

His ANC party has promised to 'test out' section 25 of the constitution, which allows the government to seize land to re-balance past 'racially discriminatory laws'.

The constitution makes it clear that reasonable compensation must be offered to the owner of the land, but the ANC is now planning a number of test cases to see if land can be seized without money changing hands if it is 'in the public interest'.

If such bids fail, the ANC has threatened to amend the constitution.

A program of land seizures in nearby Zimbabwe in the 1990s sent the country into an economic spiral from which it has never fully recovered.

Reports earlier this month suggested ministers have already drawn up a list of 139 South African farms to be targeted, though the government denies the existence of any such list.

Omri van Zyl, head of the Agri SA union, which represents mainly white commercial farmers, told The Express: 'The mood among our members is very solemn.

'They are confused about the lack of any apparent strategy from the government and many are panicking.

'So many farms are up for sale, more than we've ever had, but no one is buying.'

ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe sparked more panic last week when he suggested that anyone owning more than 25,000 acres would be targeted.

Agri SA said about 20 per cent of South Africa's farms produce 80 per cent of the food, and many of those properties would be affected by the cap.

There are fears that the release of the list of 139 farms to be seized has already made the land worthless.

Cattle farmer Jo-an Engelbrecht told the ABC's Foreign Correspondent his farm just outside Johannesburg was now 'worth zero'.

'We had several auctions in the last two or three weeks cancelled because there was no people interested in buying the land,' he said.

'Why would you buy a farm to know the government's going to take it?'</s>South Africa’s white farmers have been desperately trying to sell their lands at record pace ahead of planned government land seizures, according to a local farmer’s union. However, there are no buyers.

As Ryan Martinez writes for PlanertFreeWill.com, tensions among the country’s white farming community have been rising since the election of Cyril Ramaphosa who assumed office earlier this year and committed his African National Congress (ANC) to land expropriation.

ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe sparked panic last week when he said:

“You shouldn’t own more than 25,000 acres of land. Therefore, if you own more it should be taken without compensation.” “People who are privileged never give away privilege as a matter of a gift,” he continued. “And that is why we say, to give you the tools, revisit the constitution so that you have a legal tool to do it.”

Mantashe comments were condemned by both white and black farmers, with unions predicting such a move would lead to job losses and a situation in which South Africa may no longer be able to feed itself.

Omri van Zyl, head of the Agri SA union, which represents mainly white commercial farmers, said:

“The mood among our members is very solemn. They are confused about the lack of any apparent strategy from the government and many are panicking. So many farms are up for sale, more than we’ve ever had, but no one is buying.” “Why would you buy a farm to know the government’s going to take it?”

The National African Farmers’ Union (Nafu), which represents the country’s black farmers, said the scheme would lead to job losses.

Local newspaper City Press is reporting that two game farms in the northern province of Limpopo were the first to be targeted for unilateral seizure after negotiations with the owners to purchase the properties stalled .

While the government says it intends to pay, owners Akkerland Boerdery wanted 200 million rand ($18.7 million) for the land. However, they are being offered just 20 million rand ($1.87 million).

The farmers were forwarded a letter earlier this year which stated:

“What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires,” AgriSA union spokeswoman Annelize Crosby told the paper.

The newspaper said employees at the department had been ordered to press ahead with the process at the Land Claims Court. If the seizures go ahead, it would be the first time the state refuses to pay market value for land.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC has followed a “willing seller, willing buyer” process to redistribute white-owned farms to black Africans.

According to the 2011 census, there are about 4.6 million white people in South Africa, accounting for 8.9 percent of the population.

ANC spokesman ZiZi Kodwa refused to reveal details of the farms being targeted and has attempted to calm investor fears, adding the proposed seizures were “tied to addressing the injustices of the past”.

“Over time I think the markets, as well as investors, will appreciate that what we are doing is creating policy certainty and creating the conditions for future investment,” he told the press.

But the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform denied the list was real with spokeswoman Linda Page telling News24 that, “We don’t know where they got this from. There is no truth in this document.”

Analysts warn the move could undermine property rights and deter investment.

In Zimbabwe, violent land seizures which were authorized by Robert Mugabe in the 1990s which sent the country into a spiral of decline from which it has never recovered.

Agri SA states 20% of South Africa’s farms produce 80% of the food that feeds millions of people in southern Africa, and many of those properties would be affected by a 25,000-acre cap.

And, just as we warned previously, Ramaphosa's decision all but guarantees a banking crisis in South Africa:

Another important point is that a lot of this land that the government wants to confiscate probably has quite a bit of bank debt. Imagine – you just bought a farm for, say, 50 million rand (that’s about USD $3 million). And in order to do so, you took out a hefty loan from a South African bank. Now the government comes along and steals your property. Are you seriously going to keep paying the loan? This means that the banks are going to be stuck with massive defaults and bad debts, leading to a wave of bank failures. So in their crusade to bring Social Justice to South Africa, the government is effectively engineering a banking crisis in their country.

And sure enough, as the Chairman of South Africa's Land & Ag Development Bank warned today of the potential for default if expropriation without compensation takes place... and implies a state bailout will be required...

So, we leave it to SovereignMan's Simon Black to conclude:
The South African government begins the process of seizing land from white farm owners.