PRETORIA– The government is brief American companies based in South Africa on the land reform programme, which involves land expropriation without compensation in line with the agreement reached during a meeting between International Relations and Co-operation Minister LindiweSisulu and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in New York City on Friday.

During their meeting , which was hld on the sidelines of the ongoing 73 session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sisulu also gave Pompeo a detailed briefing about South Africa’s land reform, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation said in a statement issued here.

The Minister emphasized that the land reform and agrarian reform process will be undertaken within the framework of the Constitution and implemented in a manner that does not affect economic stability and food stability,” the statement said. In this regard, the two Ministers agreed to convene a meeting of all South Africa-based US companies to brief them about the land reform process.

The Government is proposing a review of Section 25 of the South African Constitution, which will pave the way for the expropriation of land without compensation, taking into account the fact that despite the country being 23 years into democracy, many South Africans remain dispossessed of land.

The review has been met with mixed emotions, but Government has maintained that the expropriation of land without compensation will ensure land is equitably distributed according to need, boost agricultural production and food security, while promoting economic transformation.

The meeting between Sisulu and Pompeo also touched on the steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the US.

In May, US President Donald Trump signed proclamations imposing a 10 per cent ad valorem tariff on imports of aluminium articles and a 25 per cent tariff on imports of steel articles, including those from South Africa.

South Africa’s steel exports to the US amounted to 950 million US dollars in 2017 and accounted for 1.4 per cent of the US’s global imports. In the case of aluminium, South African exports were 375 million USD in 2017, accounting for 1.6 per cent of US imports from all global suppliers. Sisulu had reiterated South Africa’s call for its exemption from the tariffs.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK