South Africa: Land Debate in South Africa Is Clouded By Misrepresentation and Lack of Data

analysis

South Africa's parliament has passed a resolution to amend the constitution and allow expropriation without compensation. The decision has generated a storm of gigantic proportions as political parties, citizens, white farmers and commentators anticipate either the moment of salvation ('real land reform at last!') or disaster ('the collapse of the market economy!').

Sadly, few contributions to the public debate are informed by the available evidence. And poorly informed commentators often misrepresent the issues. Compounding this is a serious problem - the absence of reliable national data on many aspects of the land issue.

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