Why business must widen its horizon on hot button land issue
SA Inc and its representative bodies must participate fully in the consultations and help to forge consensus
While business must be seen to condemn predatory or collusive behaviour that harms the public interest and the image of private enterprise, bad policies and state capture have also clearly distorted the proper functioning of markets in SA. It is often difficult to separate cause and effect, which frequently then degenerates into a deeply polarising ideological debate about capitalism and socialism. Markets and state intervention must be regarded as policy tools, not presented as dogmas. This is where the 2017 ANC elective conference decision to interrogate the issue of expropriating property without compensation is relevant. SA’s highly praised Constitution provides for a "mixed" system of property — partly private and partly common. Provision is also made for a number of adjustments to the proportions of the two categories, mainly in section 25 of the Constitution. As at least one authoritative legal expert among several others has explained: "Section 25 … has not been put to optim...
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