Land debate a tactic to offset EFF and ANC radicals, says BMI Research
The land debate is largely a political tactic to neutralise the EFF and radical elements in the ANC, BMI Research, a unit of Fitch Group, said on Wednesday. In its outlook for SA’s agriculture sector, BMI said the call for expropriation of land without compensation was also about catering to black voters in the upcoming 2019 general elections. BMI said President Cyril Ramaphosa, despite growing pressure from various political factions, had successfully maintained positive investor outlook with rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings, which held SA’s sovereign debt outlook at stable. The ANC is pushing ahead to address the land question, uncertainty over which has already caused investor and market jitters. The governing party partnered with the EFF in Parliament in February to vote through a motion supporting land expropriation without compensation, causing the rand to weaken and intensifying investor fear. Investors feared damage to property rights and to the ...
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