LETTER: No logic in constitutional proposal
Ramaphosa seeks to reassure investors while pushing for expropriation of property without compensation
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs investor conference on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa tried to address investor concern about expropriation of property without compensation. He has repeatedly said EWC will happen, while also trying to reassure South Africans and foreign investors that their investments and property will be safe. It’s a losing game. The land question is difficult and complex in a few respects, but property rights are not: we either have individual property rights or we do not. It is a philosophical impossibility to adopt a concept with all its implications and then also not adopt and accept that same concept in practice. You cannot tell people their property will be secure while also pushing for an amendment to the constitution that will allow for expropriation of that property without compensation. As much as you try to play games with words and concepts, the logic does not line up. You cannot say and believe A is A on the one hand, and then also believe and say...
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