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Post by Admin on Aug 21, 2018 18:16:10 GMT
Johannesburg-based newspaper City Press reported owners Akkerland Boerdery wanted 200 million rand (£16.7m) for the land, but that the country’s government were willing to offer them just a tenth of that at 20 million rand (£1.67m). A letter sent to the owners earlier this year had said: “Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm’s keys to the state.”  Akkerland Boerdery immediately took out an urgent injunction to prevent eviction until a court had ruled on the issue, but the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs has refused the application. Annelie Crosby, spokeswoman for the agricultural industry association AgriSA, told City Press: “What makes the Akkerland case unique is that they apparently were not given the opportunity to first dispute the claim in court, as the law requires.” ANC spokesman ZiZi Kodwa refused to reveal details of the farms being targeted and has attempted to cal investor fears, adding the proposed seizures were “tied to addressing the injustices of the past”. He told City Press: “Over time I think the markets as well as investors will appreciate that what we are doing is creating policy certainty and creating the conditions for future investment.” |
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Post by Admin on Aug 22, 2018 18:06:55 GMT
 The first families of Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa, could soon be moving to Russia to escape rising violence against farmers. Some 15,000 Boers want to leave South Africa and become farmers in Russia. The Schlebusch family from South Africa’s Bloemfontein is going to be among first 50 Boer families to settle in Russia’s southwest. Like many other Boers, they are seeking political asylum in Russia. They say they are facing violent attacks and death threats at home stemming from government plans to expropriate their land.  Earlier this month, farmer Adi Schlebusch visited Russia’s farmbelt Stavropol Region. Schlebusch, whose grandfather was murdered at his farm, told RT that the land in South Africa “was never taken by whites from blacks with violence or in an unjust manner.” He explained that when Boers moved to South Africa in the 19th century, they tried to act in a way that was fair, to negotiate officially and to avoid conflict. Stavropol is ready to settle up to 50 Boer families, according to the region’s Deputy Commissioner for human rights Vladimir Poluboyarenko. He told RT exclusively there is already a plan for settlement of roughly 500 families with their own cattle near Stavropol. The official also said that out of the four million Boers, representing eight percent of South Africa’s population, fifteen thousand Boers want to move to Russia. A Russian delegation is due to come to South Africa to work out a more detailed resettlement plan with the Boer community. |
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Post by Admin on Aug 24, 2018 18:06:39 GMT
For much of Wednesday, the topics the president mentioned on Twitter were familiar ones. There were the tweets about former associates Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to eight counts in federal court, and Paul Manafort, who was convicted of eight. There were the harsh words for Democrats and the claim he is the subject of a "  hunt."  Trump's tweet was an unusual way for the president to use the word "Africa" on Twitter for the first time since taking office, as The Washington Post points out. But South African leaders failed to see any flattery in the name check. |
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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2018 18:09:55 GMT
South African farmers have demanded Donald Trump “leave us the hell alone” after the US president criticised the country’s land reform plans, accusing him of trying to deflect attention from his own scandals. “The people were furious about Trump-and I think they still are,” said Preline Swart, a 37-year-old black woman who farms grain and cattle with her husband east of Cape Town. “He’s an outsider and he knows nothing about farming,” she said on the sidelines of a summit of farmers, officials and industry players in Bela Bela, 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Johannesburg. Trump’s Wednesday tweet, posted on the eve of the “Land Solution” gathering, touched on the overwhelmingly white ownership of farmland in South Africa-one of the most sensitive issues in the country’s post-apartheid history.  “I have asked Secretary of State... (Mike) Pompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers,” tweeted Trump to his 54 million followers. |
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Post by Admin on Aug 27, 2018 18:11:07 GMT
/arc-anglerfish-syd-prod-nzme.s3.amazonaws.com/public/2A7PPOQZWBEDZCXPWI5TZH7FCA.jpg) The South African government has seized its first white-owned farm as the owner of a vast hunting reserve was told to hand over his keys. Johan Steenkamp and Arnold Cloete, co-owners of the Akkerland Boerdery hunting farm in Limpopo province, said they were ordered to hand over their land after talks to buy it at a 10th of the price broke down, the Daily Mail reported. Meanwhile president Cyril Ramaphosa, who took over from Jacob Zuma last year, told a farmers' conference on Monday that "land reform" was necessary to "correct a past wrong". Steenkamp and Cloete asked for 200 million rand ($20.8m) for their reserve but were only offered 20m rand ($2.08m). A letter sent to the company earlier in the year said: "Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018, at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm's keys to the state." The farm took out an urgent injunction to prevent eviction but the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs refused his application. |
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hunt."