Apart from the threat to the rule of law it could be that South Africa is about to face a situation where the farms –
“will look more like their European or American equivalents …. They will be highly mechanised and there will be little place for unskilled workers. Farm workers will drift to the cities in search of a new life and they will find that they are not equipped to take their place in an increasingly industrial world”.
“The main thrust of the bill enhances the security of tenure of farm workers who live on farms and the fear is that this will make it much more difficult, expensive and time- consuming to evict workers even if there is good reason to do so. And, to further complicate matters, family members of workers have also been given enhanced security”.
Viola Manuel, the CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce, in an article New security of tenure bill a grim harvest for farmers published in Business Day today warns of the unintended consequences of the proposed legislation and suggests that it will do more harm than good.
The extracts give an idea of what the article contains but it needs to be studied by anyone concerned about the future of this country.
See also the earlier post by Willem Cronje Draft legislation: Land Tenure Security Bill – threat to rule of law and property rights.