Tag: Property rights

In South Africa it is well known that women suffer the brunt of our many socio-economic issues. This is largely how females are viewed across South African culture, rather than as a matter of law. According to the Economic Freedom of the World index, South Africa scores 1.0, the highest possible score, according to the gender adjustment variable.

The National Council of Provinces should hang its head in shame after voting in support of the Copyright Amendment Bill. It took this devastating decision despite overwhelming opposition to and patent rejection of the Bill by South African creators and creatives from numerous affected industries – the very people that the Bill is ostensibly meant to protect.

There is no denying that we live in the most technologically advanced era the Earth has ever seen and this is due to property rights and free trade. Removing restrictions on trade between individuals in a country is important, but removing restrictions on trade between individuals in different countries is arguably even more important given the enormous size of the global market compared to any single country’s domestic market.

The land debate, as hackneyed as it is, is being used by both the EFF and the ANC as a proxy fix to whitewash various crises that face the poor black majority in the country. In this article I’ll examine four basic reasons why 'the land' by itself will neither restore dignity nor be a catalyst for the advancement for the poor black majority.

Government’s push to water down the constitutional protection for property rights in South Africa by amending the Constitution should shock everyone of whatever race or socio-economic background. Every South African who owns property will be in jeopardy if the vital check of compensation is repealed.

“Black man, you are on your own.” – S Biko. What did Biko mean when he said this? Did he mean that putting people with a black skin colour in power would automatically solve all our problems?

The tragedy unfolding in Venezuela serves to prove a point long-settled by the failures of communist China, the USSR, Cambodia, Zimbabwe etc.

Land dispossession was commonplace in pre-democratic South Africa. People were kicked off their land because past regimes had no regard for individual property rights.

In February 2018, the African National Congress (ANC) government of South Africa joined with the radical left-leaning Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to approve a motion in parliament to request the Constitutional Review Committee to 'undertake a process of consultation to determine the modalities of the governing party resolution'.

The Free Market Foundation is appalled and alarmed that expropriation without compensation of property (EWC), probably South Africa’s most important constitutional debate since the 1996 formation of the Constitution, will have only 45 days for written submissions. It is irresponsible and anti-democratic.