South Africa: Land policy to be discussed

27 July 2007, News24
URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2152588,00.html

Pretoria:   A moratorium on foreign land ownership should be discussed as part of a bigger public debate rather than being implemented immediately, the cabinet decided on Tuesday.

The cabinet had an ordinary meeting on Tuesday morning ahead of the mid-year cabinet lekgotla, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said.

A panel of experts presented a report on the development of policy on foreign land ownership to cabinet, Maseko said.

The report included a proposal for a moratorium on foreigners buying land, but the cabinet decided that the issue should be discussed publicly when the whole report is released.

The report included several recommendations including compulsory disclosure of a foreign buyer's details, special ministerial approval for certain categories of land being sold and consideration of a long term leasing of land rather than an outright sale.

Maseko said cabinet has asked for a comparative analysis of policy in other countries to be included in the report before it's released for public comment. He said he believed this would be done within weeks.