“Expropriation is not restricted to farmland; it extends to all forms of property, including movable property and intellectual property,” said AfriForum strategy and campaign officer Ernst van Zyl on the first day of the parliamentary public hearings on the Expropriation Bill.
This past week, we held a hybrid session with some colleagues and Agbiz members joining us at Pretoria's offices, while others joined online.
The eviction of farmers from their profitable farming enterprises by “rogue officials” of the department of agriculture, rural development & land reform has resulted in claims of more than R2bn being instituted against the department, according to the 2019/2020 report of the auditor-general.
The troubles which haunt the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development are many and predate its executive head, Thoko Didiza. Admittedly, though, there is no escaping the present reality that Didiza remains responsible for effecting a credible turnaround.
Whenever complex trade issues hit the headlines, conflicting voices attempt to break down dense regulatory and fiscal information into simplified arguments, which is not always helpful in enlightening the average man in the street.
The Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Confidence Index (ACI) improved from 61 points in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 64 in the first quarter of 2021.
