Question NW3834 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
13 December 2023 - NW3834
Marawu, Ms TL to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether, in light of the undertaking by the former President, Mr J G Zuma, in his State of the Nation Address in 2015, any legislation has been developed to limit the sale of land to foreigners; if so, what are the relevant details; if not, (2) whether her department has considered to introduce legislation addressing limitations on foreign land ownership in light of the economic advantages non-South Africans have that drive South Africans out of the land and property market; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (3) what total number of hectares of land has been sold to non-South Africans from 1 January 2015 to date; (4) what initiatives did her department specifically design to prioritise and/or protect the land rights of native South Africans who may be economically disadvantaged in the context of the acquisition of land by non-citizens?
Reply:
(1),(2) The regulation of land ownership by foreign nationals is being addressed through the Land Acquisition and Redistribution Bill that is being developed and should soon serve before Cabinet for permission to publish for public comment. Amongst others the Land Acquisition and Redistribution Bill seeks to provide for compulsory land ownership disclosures by race, gender and nationality. It will further require disclosures in terms of the size and use of the agricultural land; any real right registered against and licence allocated to the agricultural land, and any other information as may be prescribed.
(3) There is currently no provision in law to track the hectares of land acquired by non-South Africans. In terms of regulation 18 of the Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act No.47 of 1937), the deeds registration system only keeps record of the names and identity numbers of registered owners of land and not their nationality, and for this reason it is not possible to identify any land that is registered in the names of non-South Africans. However, the proposed amendment in the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill provides for the inclusion of a regulation pertaining to the collection of personal information relating to race, gender, citizenship and nationality of land owners in South Africa, for statistical and land audit purposes only. This information will be captured into a register for official use, only by State departments in the national or provincial spheres of government.
(4) The Land Acquisition and Redistribution Bill will prioritise and/or protect the land rights of native South Africans who may be economically disadvantaged in the context of the acquisition of land by non-citizens. The 2020 Cabinet approved Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy defines the beneficiary selection criteria as well as priority beneficiaries of land reform.