The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) will be undertaking a global tour on policy development for expropriation of land without compensation (EWC) in South Africa.
The IRR said the issue of expropriation of land without compensation is the most significant policy development to confront South Africa since the adoption of the 1996 Constitution.
The press statement issued by IRR read: “Expropriation of land without compensation has significant implications for South Africa’s economy and hence the living standards of all its people. It has equally significant human rights implications, given that property rights anchor civil rights in all free societies.
“Extensively canvassed in the media, this is an issue that now sits front and centre of South Africa’s national debate and has also attracted widespread attention abroad where opinion has been split between the reassurances of the South African government on the one hand and warnings of dire economic and political consequences by various activists on the other.”
The IRR also said it has been approached by numerous foreign actors for advice on what is likely to occur and what the political and economic consequences will be.
“IRR analysts will, during the next three weeks, tour Europe and the United States to address these questions and brief various government, investor, and political groups with interests in South Africa.
“Some of these briefings will be public, while others will occur behind closed doors. Two public reports will be released, one each in Washington and Brussels, on the likely consequences of EWC. We intend to offer a frank assessment that avoids both the hyperbole that has taken hold in some quarters and the complacency that prevails in others, and that sets these developments within their short- and long-term context,” the statement read.
The IRR said it has campaigned for property rights for all South Africans, both in the country and abroad, since its inception in 1929.
“That objective has not changed. As on all policy matters we deal with, we will offer evidence-based commentary on the implications of the South African government diluting property rights protection – and advocate for solutions founded on liberty and personal freedom,” the IRR added.
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