Makone Maja, Strategic Engagements Manager at the Institute of Race Relations, will be joining a webinar discussion today on “land rights after the Expropriation Act”, hosted by the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State.
Maja, who is a Master’s in Innovation Policy candidate at the University of Pretoria and a member of the George Ayittey Society, will be joined in the discussion by Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), and Christo van der Rheede, former CEO of the Afrikaans Handelsinstituut, Agri SA and the FW de Klerk Foundation, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Free State’s School of Economic Sciences.
Sihlobo is the author of three books, The Uncomfortable Truth About South Africa’s Agriculture, A Country of Two Agricultures꞉ the Disparities, the Challenges, the Solutions, and Finding Common Ground꞉ Land, Equity, and Agriculture.
In a note on the webinar, the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at UFS writes: “Land issues are back in focus following the President’s assent to the Expropriation Act. A piece of legislation long in the making – and equally long the subject of impassioned contestation – this has received a mixed reception.
“Remarkably, it has featured in the increasingly fraught relationship between South Africa and the United States.”
Pressing questions arise, it says: “But what does this mean for South Africa and its complicated land politics? Does the law signify a rapid march towards land justice, or does it enable widespread land seizures? What does this mean for landholding, land reform and property rights in South Africa? And what does it mean for South Africa’s politics and its economic aspirations?”
Tomorrow’s webinar will start at 12 noon. To join, go to: https://bit.ly/UFSwebinar