Expropriation could bankrupt Land Bank
A poorly executed reform policy could trigger a potential R41bn bail-out from the government
Expropriation of land without compensation could bankrupt the Land Bank, one of the few state-owned enterprises that is not a drain on the country’s finances, and trigger a potential R41bn bailout from the government. These potential "grim consequences" of a poorly executed land reform policy were set out by Land Bank chair Arthur Moloto after the publication of the lender’s 2018 annual report on Monday. "We want the rights of creditors to be respected. So if our collateral [land] is taken away, it raises all sorts of questions. And if our rights are not respected, we will have these unintended consequences," he said at the event attended by finance minister Nhlanhla Nene. The debate about land rights has intensified since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on July 31 that the ANC would seek to change the constitution to enable the expropriation of land without compensation, and has been partly blamed for the rand’s decline to its weakest levels in more than two years. Commercial b...
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