Expropriation without compensation remains a hurdle for Ramaphosa at Davos

The South African civil rights organisation AfriForum sharply criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa after he today created the impression during his presentation at the conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland that South Africa is a safe haven for international investors, while in South Africa he persists in trying to justify the expropriation of private property without compensation.

Ernst Roets, Deputy CEO of AfriForum, says that the President created the impression that South Africa is on its way to economic recovery, while the country has for the first time in its history reached the point where South Africans are investing more abroad than foreigners are investing in South Africa.

Roets says that the President shouldn’t underestimate the intelligence of international investors and that he is obviously still in denial with regard to the fact that certainty regarding the protection of property rights is a prerequisite for economic growth. “When the President is talking in South Africa, he tells us that he will expropriate private property without compensation. But over in Switzerland he tells people that their investments will be safe in South Africa.”

Roets adds that AfriForum also wants to encourage foreign countries to invest in South Africa, considering that it will be in the best interest of everyone living in South Africa. “Creating an unfavourable climate for investments and then reassuring investors that the climate is favourable, is however irrational. If the government is really serious about foreign investments, a favourable climate will need to be created. The first step that will need to be taken in this regard is the reassurance that the constitutional right to own private property will be respected.”