The big lie about land ownership

The year 2013 will go down in history as the year of the big lie about the history of land ownership in South Africa, said Mr. Louis Meintjes, President of TAU SA, in reaction on Mr. Nkwinti’s announcement of the figures of land owned by the state. According to the figures researched by a group of independent demographers for the Development Bank, which was completed in 2001, it pointed out that at that stage the state owned 25% of the land whilst Mr Nkwinti claimed that currently the state owns 22% of the land.

Mr. Nkwinti is appointing people to record the verbal history of more than 360 years which has not been written down and which was only conveyed from generation to generation by word of mouth.  On the other hand, a recorded history exists which has stood the test of time. It could therefore be expected that the new history will be written and rewritten until it suits the ANC, said Mr Meintjes. With the 100 year anniversary of the Native Land Act of 1913, later this year, the ANC is going to do its best to create an emotional outburst reflecting many factual distortions and lies and which will be a true reflection.

It will be in South Africa’s best interest if the truth about the history of land ownership is clarified. This can only be done through research including the Hansards and archives as was done by prof. Louis Changuion in his book, Controversial Land, and not by creating a myth around what some people might prefer it to be. The extensive work of Prof. Changuion addresses precisely the captured history of land sourced from documents which could be regarded as reliable sources.