Press Release
Our Land, Our Rent, Our Jobs
Uncovering the explosive potential for growth via resource rentals
Stephen Meintjes & Michael Jacques
Publication: 2nd July 2015
Publisher: Shepheard-Walwyn
www.shepheard-walwyn.co.uk
ISBN 9780856835049 £19.95 paperback
South Africa may seem far away but it is strategically important to the West. Out of frustration at the slow progress with land apportionment and high unemployment, a radical party with Marxist leanings has emerged which could turn to China and Russia. To take the heat out of the situation the authors show how a reform of taxation can lead to a more equitable distribution of land and wealth, while at the same time stimulating the economy and job growth. They illustrate how the current tax regime makes 50% of the country economically unviable and recommend a return to the tried and tested system that served Johannesburg so well as a local tax and still serves the gold mining industry well.
Mugabe's policy of violent expropriation has ruined the economy in Zimbabwe and, unchecked, the same could happen in South Africa. In an open letter to Richard Branson, published in the Mail and Guardian last year, Andile Mngxitama, the Economic Freedom Fighter’s (EFF’s) commissar for land and agrarian revolution wrote: “Our media reports that you have just bought yourself a 40 hectare wine farm in Franschhoek. Sir, you have bought stolen property. The consequence of your witting or unwitting participation in this illegal transaction is that the EFF policy of land expropriation without compensation may, in the near future, affect your investment adversely.”
“The debate over land will occupy more of our time. Answers must be found, and quickly too ... particularly in the light of sentiments in predominantly black areas and after the recent elections ... Let the ideas in this book be looked at with an open mind.” Dr Thami Mazwai, University of Johannesburg
“Leaders across the continent have been considering policies that have had limited success in the past. A ‘land rent’ based approach could answer some developmental questions for the continent.” Percy Takunda, Imara SP Reid brokerage
“Given the challenges of finding an equitable and efficient system for raising revenue, their pro-posals cause us to think creatively ‘out of the box’ ... also a refreshing look at how South Africa’s pressing problems of job creation, rapid economic growth, revenue shortfalls, corruption, and poverty can be alleviated." Kennedy Maxwell, past President, Chamber of Mines of South Africa
Author details:
Stephen Meintjes studied law at Stellenbosch and Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has spent most of his career in investment research and management and is frequently quoted in the media, including radio and television. He is currently Head of Research for Imara S. P. Reid.
The late Michael Jacques, a chartered accountant and then lecturer at the Faculty of Commerce of the University of the Witwatersrand, worked with Stephen Meintjes on the submission to the Treasury of various proposals on windfall taxes, royalties and general tax reform.
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