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23 Aug 2018
IN TWEETS: Donald Trump loves to hate (South) Africa
US President Donald Trump has once again managed to stir up a media storm and spark contentious debate, after tweeting about land expropriation and farm murders in South Africa.
23 Aug 2018
Trump's tweet 'unfortunate' - communications minister
The South African government has undertaken to intensify communication about its land reform plans as the "onslaught" by those opposing also intensified, Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane told journalists.
23 Aug 2018
Land Expropriation: Malema warns US to stay out of SA's domestic affairs
EFF commander-in-chief Julius Malema has issued a stern warning to the US to stay out of South Africa's domestic affairs.
23 Aug 2018
AgriSA presents its view at the #LandSummit
AgriSA today initiated the #LandSummit with a high-level assessment of the challenges and solutions to South Africa’s land question.
The summit, held in co-operation with Landbouweekblad, is a two-day event aimed at finding solutions for agrarian transformation. The summit forms part of AgriSA’s broader engagement with government and other stakeholders as a representative of some 28 000 commercial farmers across South Africa.
“South Africa is faced by a political dilemma from the suffering caused by apartheid and other discriminatory past practices, and AgriSA says that the political solution is to restore the dignity of our people by extending a hand of friendship of collaboration with government and fellow farmers,” said Dan Kriek, Agri SA President.
“South Africa is also facing an economic dilemma of slow growth and unemployment, and the solution is to devise a plan to provide land for housing in urban areas, land for industrialization and land for farming. This will have to be aligned with the National Development Plan. We need more black farmers on more black farms in a sustainable and orderly way. We cannot expropriate ourselves out of trouble, we need to develop ourselves out of trouble.”
AgriSA remains encouraged by the commitment made again today by Deputy President David Mabuza, that government will, among others oppose land grabs.
Agri SA also welcomes the invitation extended by the Deputy President to participate on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform, which will also mean that organized agriculture will have a view on the deliberations taking place within the Committee.
“Instead of dividing us, the debate must reinforce us,” said Deputy President Mabuza.
“As farmer you must continue to work hard, invest in your farms and increase productions, while extending a hand to government to ensure that more South Africans enter agriculture. Many of the farmers in this room are already involved in supporting successful models to support develop black farmers of the future. To these patriots, we want to say as government, thank you very much.”
AgriSA is proud to be part of this important summit and look forward to finding real solutions to sustainable agrarian transformation.
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
Trump's tweet of SA government's own making, says IRR
US President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday morning that South Africa has begun seizing land from white farmers and that he asked the US secretary of state to look into the matter.
Frans Cronje, CEO of the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), who recently undertook a trip to the US to speak to investors and think tanks about expropriation without compensation, responds to the tweet and subsequent fallout.
23 Aug 2018
Deputy President steps in, puts SA farmers at ease after Trump's land expropriation comments
As South Africa debates US President Donald Trump's comments about land expropriation, Deputy President David Mabuza took the opportunity to quell farmers' fear and apprehension.
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
AfriForum welcomes Pres Trump’s announcement that the USA will investigate expropriation in SA
The civil rights organisation AfriForum welcomed American president Donald Trump’s announcement on Twitter that he had requested Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, to thoroughly investigate the illegal occupation of land and farms, expropriation as well as the widespread murder of farmers in South Africa.
Trump’s announcement follows only three months after AfriForum sent a delegation to the USA to inform the Cato Institute (a prominent American think tank), Tucker Carlson (Presenter of Fox News) and various other institutions and politicians of the situation in this regard in South Africa.
Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, thanked the Cato Institute, Tucker Carlson and every other role-player in the USA that took a stand to make the ANC’s plans to amend the South African Constitution to enable expropriation without compensation, as well as the farm murder crisis in SA, part of America’s public agenda.
According to Kriel, his organisation has no other choice but to garner international support against expropriation without compensation, as the ANC officially announced that the party had decided to amend the Constitution to enable expropriation without compensation – even before the public participation process had been concluded.
“The ANC’s decision, as announced by Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa himself, has made a farce of the local participation processes and that is why AfriForum is, as a last resort, continuing to mobilise international pressure for the protection of property rights in South Africa.”
Kriel indicated that Pres. Trump’s announcement is not only good news for property owners in SA, but for everyone in the country.
“Venezuela, with a poverty rate of 90%, and Zimbabwe, with an unemployment rate of 90%, are examples that prove that the disregard of property rights ruins a country’s economy to the detriment of everyone in the country. Everyone in SA should therefore hope that the pressure from the USA will lead to the ANC reconsidering the disastrous route that they want to take SA on,” Kriel added.
The ANC’s continued denial of the fact that farm murders, which are proportionally significantly higher than SA’s average murder rate, is a unique crisis that requires specific attention, compelled AfriForum to also bring the farm murder crisis under the international community’s attention.
Kriel indicated that, in the light of Trump’s instruction to the Secretary of State to investigate expropriation without compensation and farm murders, AfriForum is ready to provide additional information regarding the matter to the American government.
AfriForum will intensify its campaign to inform the international community regarding the threat to property rights and farm murders in SA.
23 Aug 2018
Trump tweet raises fears that US could punish SA
US President Donald Trump waded into South Africa’s racially charged debate about land reform, triggering a selloff in the rand.
23 Aug 2018
Expropriation without compensation: Fact-checking Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump
Tucker Carlson, one of the biggest and most influential conservative television hosts in the United States, told his millions of viewers on Wednesday night that President Cyril Ramaphosa was "a racist", that former US president Barack Obama was "a coward" and that the South African Constitution had been changed to enable the seizure of white land.
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
23 Aug 2018
DIRCO to meet with US Embassy following tweet on the land programme
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, has noted the unfortunate comments on Twitter by the President of the United States of America, H.E. Donald J. Trump, on land redistribution and crime.
It is regrettable that the tweet is based on false information. The Minister has thus instructed the Department to meet with the US Embassy in Pretoria to seek clarification on the matter today, 23 August 2018.
Minister Sisulu will also communicate with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on the matter through diplomatic channels. Minister Sisulu said South Africa has good political, economic and trade relations with the United States of America and that diplomatic channels remain open to provide clarity on issues of mutual interest.
Further comments will be made after the meeting between DIRCO and US embassy officials.
23 Aug 2018
Land claims must still go through the courts - AgriSA tells land owners
As land expropriation without compensation gains momentum, agricultural industry association Agri SA has taken it upon itself to alert land owners to the action they can take.
23 Aug 2018
Police and AgriSA wrong about decline in farm murders - AfriForum
While the police and agricultural body AgriSA have found that farm murders have decreased to their lowest level in 20 years, lobby group AfriForum's deputy CEO Ernst Roets said that there had been a significant increase this year.
23 Aug 2018
AfriForum's own farm murder stats don't support their claims
My father taught me that you must always speak in a way that lifts people up. Perhaps it's a lesson that I should have taken more to heart when I composed my Twitter thread on farm murders in response to Ernst Roets' tweet about AfriForum's delegation to the United States to "lobby against racist theft (#LandExpropriation) and #FarmMurders".
