#SOUTHAFRICA: Group Says It Has List Of 195 White-Owned Farms Government Plans To Take Without Compensation

[world politics news]

AfriForum, a lobby group which mainly represents white South Africans, says it has obtained a list of 195 farms which the government is planning to seize from white farmers without compensation. The chair of the African National Congress is on record as saying the government should take land from those who own more than 3,000 acres of land. The Rand, South Africa's currency, fell on financial markets after ANC chair Gwede Mantashe, an ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, said this week that major landowners should have their land taken without compensation. Ramaphosa, for his part, has publicly denied the existence of the list.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#USA: New Mexico Land Commissioner Halts Discussion With Feds Over State Land Near Proposed Border Wall

[world politics news]

New Mexico's State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn says he has ended negotiations with the Federal Government to settle a dispute over a piece of state trust land along the border with Mexico. The Federal Government already has constructed a fence as well as a road at the property, but Dunn, who this year switched from Republican to Libertarian, said the Feds do not have a right of way to use the state trust land, and is holding out for more than $54,000 from them to use the land. It has offered just over $8,700. For now, he's placed a "No Trespassing" sign on the state trust land.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SOUTHAFRICA: Taking Land From Whites Without Compensation Must Be Law, Pres. Ramaphosa Tells Parliament

[world politics news]

Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the ruling African National Congress to amend the constitution to allow land grabs from white farmers without compensation. Ramaphosa was making good on a campaign promise to return the lands owned by the whites since the 1600s to the country's black population. Economists fear a food production crisis if large commercial farms are seized, similar to one that gripped neighboring Zimbabwe when land appropriation plan was imposed in 1999.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#MALAWI: New Law Offers Greater Compensation For Land Taken By Eminent Domain

[world politics news]

Malawi's parliament has passed a land acquisition bill designed to benefit poor Malawians whose lands are subject to be taken by the government by eminent domain for developmental projects and urbanization. The new legislation will offer affected families better compensation than the current law, which only takes into account how land will be developed and how many trees are on the property.

[FULL STORY HERE]