South Africa has a problem. The country ended government-endorsed racial discrimination and segregation more than two decades ago. But trouble from the dreadful system continues. Newly elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wants to take land from the country’s white minority. He wants to transfer some of it to the black majority. But are such seizures good for South Africa?
“Apartheid” means “separateness” in the Afrikaans language. From 1948–1994, South Africa practiced apartheid. The policy of apartheid says white people are superior to black people. This idea is not only incorrect; it is also wicked. God calls humans His image bearers. (Genesis 1:27) That makes every person precious. All people are descended from the same first human creations, and God shows no partiality. (Acts 10:34-35)
South African lawmakers used apartheid as an excuse to keep black people poor and unable to own land or businesses. A 1913 law put most of the fertile farmland in South Africa in white hands, leaving only a small percentage to black landowners. But since apartheid ended in 1994, there haven’t been many protests about the land policy.
Today, much of South Africa’s economy is still controlled by the white minority. That angers folks who hoped for a better life after apartheid. Various political parties in South Africa want the government to fix the land problem. Some want the government to help black South Africans by seizing land and giving it to them. Others say state land should be given to potential farmers—whatever their ethnicity.
President Ramaphosa’s government wants more black people to own land in South Africa. But Ramaphosa also wants to avoid what happened in neighboring Zimbabwe. That country saw chaotic land seizures under its former leader. The seizures hurt Zimbabwe economically. Ramaphosa hopes to manage land transfers calmly through dialogue—“no smash and grab.”
A South African parliamentary committee is considering a constitutional amendment. The new law would allow the government to seize property without giving owners money for it, an idea called expropriation. South Africa’s white Afrikaner minority opposes the seizures. A group representing the Afrikaners plans to launch an international campaign. It seeks to warn foreign governments and investors of problems—mainly weak property rights and unsafe investments—if the South African government proceeds.
Ramaphosa claims Afrikaners are simply stoking fear. He says the government land seizures and distributions are “a question that we will continue to handle with care and responsibility.”
