New Law Stops Foreign Nationals From Owning South African Land

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A law that is due to be passed by the South African government will ban foreign nationals from owning land in the country, said Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti said on Tuesday.

The government has been active in auditing all state-owned land and is now ready to move onto privately owned pieces of land. Once this audit is finished the law will go into effect, ruling that foreign nationals will instead lease land on a long term basis.

This announcement comes during a tumultuous time for the farming and agriculture industry with an impending wage hike that takes effect next month. Discussions between the government and farmers have so far been positive with promises from the government to try and make the transitions as easy as possible.

There is significant anxiety right now centered around the coming wage increase that there will be a result of lost jobs due to farmers cutting out lower performers. The government is currently working on a wage increase subsidy to ease the new policies for the farmers. The aim of the new policies and decision is to create new jobs and stabilize the industry.