Beijing’s New Frontier
On January 23, 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Without Compensation Bill, granting the government the authority to seize private property without compensation. While officials portray the law as a step toward historical justice and land reform, the reality is far more alarming. Critics argue that Ramaphosa’s actions are benefiting foreign interests, particularly China.
Despite mounting evidence, both Ramaphosa and Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuizen continue to downplay concerns over land seizures, insisting that no farms are being unlawfully confiscated. For local farmers, however, the threat is real: farms are being targeted, invaded, and left vulnerable as law enforcement fails to intervene.
Akkerland Farm Takeover Warning
The Akkerland farm, a 3,000-hectare game property in Limpopo, was owned by Johan Steenkamp and Arnold Cloete, who received an eviction notice in March 2018. The government gave them only seven days to vacate, a clear violation of South African law, which considers a minimum of 30 days a reasonable notice period. The state offered a mere $1.2 million in compensation (just 10% of the farm’s $12 million value) citing land redistribution as justification. Yet the true motivation appeared linked to the region’s mineral wealth.
Akkerland lay within the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, slated for a $10 billion Chinese investment project that included a 4,600MW coal-fired power station and sought control of the area’s rich coal deposits. Many farms in the region, including Akkerland, held valuable mineral rights, as revealed in a 2017 ANC list of 196 farms earmarked for expropriation.
Following a legal battle, the Land Claims Court ruled the expropriation unlawful in September 2018 on procedural grounds. Despite this, by 2019, mounting legal and political pressure forced Steenkamp and Cloete to sell the farm to a mining company, not by choice, but out of necessity, driven by ongoing court disputes and coercive political tactics.
What has happened at Akkerland is only the tip of the iceberg. A growing number of land seizures are taking place across South Africa. In the past, land grabs were often violent and disorderly, resembling the chaotic expropriations seen in Zimbabwe. Today, the government has effectively granted legal protection to these seizures through the 2025 Expropriation Without Compensation Bill, institutionalizing a system that threatens property rights and economic stability.
Economic Stability at Risk
Although the ANC presents expropriation as a tool for justice, the reality is far more complex. Projects such as the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone reveal that land targeted for “reform” is often rich in mineral resources and tied to large-scale international agreements, particularly with China. South Africa has received billions in loans from Beijing, and in some instances, land seized under the banner of redistribution has ended up in the hands of foreign investors rather than the black farmers it was meant to benefit. This suggests that expropriation serves not only to address historical injustices but also to advance economic arrangements that primarily benefit political and business elites.
If this trend continues, the consequences could be severe. Farm closures threaten food security, while persistent uncertainty over property rights risks deterring essential investment. As agricultural jobs disappear, rural communities will bear the brunt of the decline. Combined with heated rhetoric and limited government intervention, these dynamics may also exacerbate social and racial tensions, further destabilizing the country.
White South Africans are increasingly bearing the brunt of this lawlessness as it spreads nationwide. Afrikaners, who contribute a significant share of the nation’s tax base and GDP, remain crucial to South Africa’s economic stability. Without their continued security and participation, the nation faces serious economic and social consequences.
When Donald Trump warned about land seizures in South Africa, the media dismissed him as alarmist, and politicians labeled his claims misinformation. Yet the facts tell a different story: land grabs are happening, and the government is allowing them.
Willem Petzer
Commentator
