President Donald Trump has stirred up the international relations pot once again, this time targeting South Africa for allegedly seizing land from white South African farmers. Trump took to Twitter, writing:
I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2018
South Africa has already fired back, with the foreign ministry claiming that the President’s remarks were based on false information. As usual, unpacking what’s happening in South Africa is difficult as the situation is complex. Let’s start by looking at the “mass killings” of farmers.
Attacks on farms in South Africa are common with 446 having occurred in 2015-2016, resulting in 49 deaths. It’s possible that racial animosity plays a role, but black farm workers and owners are also frequently targeted. An analysis by the South African police indicated that roughly 60 percent of those attacked were white, while 33 percent were black. It must be noted that white farmers own approximately 72 percent of South Africa’s farms.
The police have previously argued that the attacks are part of larger trends. Violent crime is rampant in South Africa. For example, South Africa reported a murder rate of nearly 34 people per 100,000 in 2016, compared to 5.35 per 100,000 in the United States in the same year. The United States actually has one of the higher murder rates for any developed country. Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom all report murder rates of less than 2 per 100,000.
Interestingly, attacks on farmers have actually declined in recent years, but they clearly remain a problem. There is nothing to suggest, however, that the South African government is involved in the attacks or that it is not working to reduce them. Onto the next claim: Is South Africa taking land from white South African farmers without compensation?
The answer is…not yet. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that his ruling African National Congress (ANC) would look into rewriting the Constitution to allow for uncompensated land seizures. So far, no land has been seized. Further, the ANC would need to have a majority in Congress (which it lacks) in order to pass a Constitutional reform. Even then, the move would likely draw challenges in court.
Still, Ramaphosa has voiced support for seizing land from white farmers. In South Africa, land reform remains one of the thorniest post-Apartheid issues. Whites had secured approximately 90 percent of all land in South Africa by the time Apartheid was ended in 1994, despite making up only about 10 percent of the population. To be quite blunt, it’s not difficult for an elite subset of the population to accumulate land under a racist system that greatly favors them.
The South African government wants black farmers to own at least 30 percent of farmland. Right now, with just 4 percent of farmland owned by black farmers, they have a long way to go.
South Africa can currently seize land for public interests, similar to eminent domain doctrines found in many countries. However, the government must compensate the land owners and offer them a fair price for the land. In fact, black South Africans can sue for land if they can prove that their family was buried on or owned the farm before 1910. The government can then seize and compensate the current farmers before transferring ownership.