With the fine aim of redressing the racially skewed pattern of land ownership that has existed since whites conquered South Africa hundreds of years ago, the government's land-reform programme is a shambles. Launched in 1994, the plan was to redistribute 30% of white-owned farmland to poor blacks. So far, barely 5% has been handed over. The government has run out of money. Once-productive land lies fallow. The deadline of 2014 for completing the reform has been postponed; 2025 has been mooted but even that may be too ambitious. The estimated extra cost is 71 billion rand ($9.4 billion) on top of 6 billion already disbursed.
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