Terence Corrigan, Policy Fellow at the South African Institute of Race Relations, says the organisation has good reason to believe that the list is genuine. JOHANNESBURG - Terence Corrigan, Policy Fellow at the South African Institute of Race Relations, says that AfriForum has good reason to believe that a list of targeted farms for land expropriation without compensation is genuine. “We have good reason to believe that it [the list] is genuine. We believe that AfriForum is correct and the information is pulling out.” Corrigan has argued that they have reasons but can’t get into the details. Listen to the audio above for more. (Edited by Refilwe Pitjeng)<doc-sep>A list of white farmers whose lands are to be seized without compensation in South Africa has been published by the local minority rights group AfriForum. The government denies the accuracy of the list. The group has uploaded the list of the next land-expropriation victims on its website. AfriForum said it obtained the list through the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform ministry, which has denied its veracity. AfriForum claims the list of lands for expropriation includes 195 farms, and has offered to get in contact with affected parties to prepare for a joint legal strategy. The group’s CEO told News24 that the document was “definitely being circulated” in the South African government despite the denials. Read more South African agricultural industry association AgriSA has said two farmers on the list had contacted it for protection. “By the way, some of those farmers were extremely agitated that they have now been exposed,” Agri SA President Dan Kriek said, as quoted by News24. “They are extremely worried with the name of their farm on a list that they might be exposed towards… well anything… land invasion, squatting, whatever.” The organization claims that AfriForum’s list is not fully correct. “Upon investigation by Agri SA’s affiliates, it came to light that the list contained farms that are joint ventures that are co-owned by black people,” said Annelize Crosby, Agri SA's head of the Center of Excellence: Land. The issue of land ownership in South Africa remains a delicate question, more than two decades after the end of apartheid. According to the government, 72 percent of private land is owned by white people despite whites being a minority in South Africa. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section<doc-sep>Civil rights organisation AfriForum remains adamant that a list of properties earmarked for “expropriation” that it published is legitimate. “What we have done to protect our source is to change the format. We have much more information that [we] did not publish‚ because we also wanted to protect the property owners‚” AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said on Tuesday during a media conference at their offices in Centurion. He said they had no doubt that the list‚ from a “reputable” source‚ being circulated within the department of Rural Development and Land Reform‚ was real. AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets said there could be more than one list circulating in the department which would explain the discrepancy between the 195 properties on their list and the 139 properties mentioned by government. “We typed everything exactly as it is over into an Excel spreadsheet where it was in a PDF document initially… There was a lot more information about the farms and we decided to take that out‚ because we didn’t want to publish that. There was no change in terms of the content of the list.” Kriel said about 600 people had contacted AfriForum‚ including some property owners on the list.<doc-sep>ANA The group says the threat of expropriation without compensation is of such a serious nature that they cannot afford divisions among the supporters of property rights. AfriForum announced on Tuesday that it had decided to combine its efforts with the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa (Tau SA) and the Afrikaner business organisation Sakeliga to develop a joint litigation strategy to oppose government’s intended plans to expropriate property without compensation. Over the weekend, AfriForum published a list of 195 properties allegedly identified in an internal discussion document for expropriation without compensation by the department of rural development and land reform (DRDLR), which it said was provided by a reputable source. The department has denied the existence of such a list, saying that it would be “highly irresponsible, unfair and unprocedural”. AfriForum and its partners have since encouraged their respective members and other people whose properties are on the list to contact the organisations and provide information to enable the three organisations to jointly decide on a strategy to support people who are allegedly affected negatively. Kallie Kriel, chief executive of AfriForum, said the threat of expropriation without compensation was of such a serious nature that they cannot afford division among the supporters of property rights. Louis Meintjes, president of Tau SA, said property rights and compensation at market value were key to a sustainable economy and economic growth. “These two principles may never be set aside. This case is bigger than any person or institution. Standing together is the only workable success for landowners in South Africa,” Meintjes said. Piet le Roux, chief executive of Sakeliga, said the ruling ANC was starting to show similarities with Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF, referring to land seizures in the neighbouring country that led to lost agricultural export revenues. “Whether or not the disclosed list is the final list is not the crux of the matter. It is a fact that the ANC does have a list of farms that the party wants to expropriate in test cases under the current constitution. This means that the ANC, just like Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe then, will try to clothe the seizure of farms with procedural legitimacy,” Le Roux said. For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.<doc-sep>
Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has denied the existence of such a list. JOHANNESBURG – AfriForum is preparing for legal action to protect farms allegedly listed on a document for expropriation. The lobby group published the list on its website at the weekend, claiming that it was being circulated at the Rural Development and Land Department but has refused to reveal its source. Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has denied the existence of such a list. AfriForum's Kallie Kriel says: “We’ve a reliable source that has given us a list of farms that are going to be targeted for expropriation and now we hear the government knows this. “But the fact is, the minister herself, as well as the ANC spokesperson, have confirmed that there’s a list.” [LISTEN] SAIRR: AFriForum correct on farm expropriation list The department says that it hasn't embarked on any process of expropriating land without compensation, denying the existence of the list. The list published on AfriForum’s website comprises 190 farms, which the organisation claims will be used to test land expropriation without compensation. The department says that Section 25 of the Constitution, which requires land with compensation, hasn't been amended yet, as the review committee is in the process of reviewing the clause. The department's Phuti Mabelebele explained: “The current legislative framework requires just an equitable compensation for any expropriation of land. The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform is empowered by current existing law to issue notices of expropriation with an offer for payment.” AfriForum has expressed concern about the list, saying that some of the properties included are highly productive commercial farms.