I am seeing some comments about remarks made by the South African leadership in Zimbabwe over the weekend, congratulating the country on its effort to revive its agricultural sector. The comments by South Africa are expected, given that this was a political event.
The reaction from fellow South Africans to the speech highlights that Zimbabwe’s land reform was a significant failure, causing economic pain to many people. This is a truth, and Zimbabwe’s agriculture has not recovered since its ill-advised land reform plan in the early 2000s.
While we can all wish Zimbabwe well in its efforts to rebuild, the country’s land reform is no model for South Africa.
South Africa’s land reform is based on market principles. It supports growing investment in our agricultural sector, enabling it to play a meaningful role in resolving our triple challenge of low growth, poverty, and unemployment.
The starting point is the continuous affirmation of the strong property right, and thereafter, a release of the 2.5 million hectares of government land to appropriately selected beneficiaries with title deeds. This could be followed by blended finance and upskilling, collaboratively implemented with the private sector.
The 2.5 million hectares will not be the end of land reform; the process must continue on its market principles under the three pillars of (1) restitution, (2) redistribution, and (3) tenure.
To be clear, the South African government is still buying land from the open market for land reform processes, amongst other things. This is unlikely to change, and we all know that destructive policies won’t help resolve our triple challenges. Instead, it is investment and continuous efforts in opening export markets, addressing biosecurity weaknesses, and improving the logistics and efficiencies of municipal service delivery that will bring shared prosperity in South Africa’s agriculture.
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