SA Government Lacks Updated Data on Land Owned by Foreign Nationals, Minister Admits

• Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso told Parliament that there are no recent statistics on how much South African land foreign nationals owned in South Africa
• ATM leader Vuyo Zungula challenged the minister over the nearly decade-old audit, raising concerns about a key national issue
• The 2017 Land Audit recorded foreign nationals owning 789,932 hectares, but excluded land held through companies and trusts

PARLIAMENT — South African authorities are developing statutory measures to regulate non-citizen property holdings while depending on state records compiled almost ten years ago. The response came almost a month after the South African Reserve Bank updated its balance of payments codes, which affect foreign nationals purchasing land.

According to IOL, the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mzwanele Nyhontso, disclosed in parliamentary correspondence that no recent statistical assessments exist regarding foreign land tenure. Official reference points continue to rely on a 2017 study, which identified 789,932 hectares—equal to 0.56% of the national territory—under the title of non-South African individuals.

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Breakdowns for each province from that period show the highest concentrations in the Northern Cape, with 298,226 hectares, and the Western Cape, with 117,063 hectares. Remaining allocations comprise 73,168 hectares in the Free State, 70,518 in Limpopo, 56,498 in North West, 50,977 in Gauteng, 48,860 in the Eastern Cape, 46,658 in KwaZulu-Natal, and 27,964 in Mpumalanga.

These figures omit critical segments of the real estate market. Departmental methodology failed to track holdings registered under corporate entities, legal trusts, or alternative juristic bodies, leaving officials unable to verify if sites serve agricultural, commercial, or residential purposes.

Zungula slams the government

African Transformation Movement (ATM) parliamentarian Vuyo Zungula challenged the absence of current information, stating that managing national property distribution requires complete oversight of current deeds. Addressing questions about future regulatory frameworks, Nyhontso stated that draft legislation designed to govern property ownership by foreign individuals is currently being finalized before presentation to Cabinet.

UK buyers purchase Cape home for R15 million

In a related article, Briefly News reported on UK buyers who purchased a penthouse in Cape Town’s Newlands for a record R15.9 million. The property, located in The Marlow on Mill, will reportedly be used only during the buyers’ visits to South Africa.

Source: Briefly News