The story, theory and truth of land reform
“I believe that the best measure for when we care about something is how quick and how natural our instinct to protect that thing is.” This was the opening line of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s keynote address during the recent University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture. Adichie is the author of award-winning novels such as Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah – all of which I can highly recommend! A lot of what she said during the lecture made me think about the land issue in South Africa. It seems to me that we have two sides to the land reform conversation, which puts white commercial farmers, who are supposedly reluctant to give up their land, on the one side, and aspiring black farmers, who desperately want access…