Who really owns the land?

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Wildly incorrect figures on land ownership are being bandied about on social media in South Africa, where expropriation without compensation is a trending topic. We get some perspective from Institute of Race Relations (IRR) fellow Gabriel Crouse who says: “…if you want to know what could the government confirm in terms of racial ownership…it could only confirm 22% of land owned by white people.” He warns: “Black South Africans literally have the most to lose because Black South Africans have the most land in terms of urban land and almost certainly the most land by value, particularly if you're looking at residential land, which is the most valuable land in the country.” As for US President Donald Trump’s refugee offer to Afrikaners, he says: “…the State Department would have done much better to say that all South Africans are at risk, that all South Africans stand to gain from strong property rights and lose from weak property rights, and not to single out one group, which they can't even define, we suspect, for special refugee benefits.” Meanwhile, IRR Legal, which Crouse leads, is heading to court. “Personally, I think we're going to win.”
14 Feb 2025 4AM English South Africa Investing · Business News

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