Throwing the little guy under the EWC bus – Frans Cronjé

[Tokolotshe]

I wonder if the government has factored into account the possibility that any landowner who is told that their property will be taken without any compensation will make sure that their property is completely uninhabitable once they are forced off of it. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of farmers out there who will poison every borehole, burn down every structure, kill every last bit of game and scorch every last field on their way out. They will make sure that their farms are completely and utterly unusable for decades to come.

Nothing like a few dead chickens down a borehole, diesel in the crop sprayer ... and mortgaged to the hilt before disappearing to another country. Help yourself.

Won't be the first time it's done either.

 

[SoldierMan]

I wonder if the government has factored into account the possibility that any landowner who is told that their property will be taken without any compensation will make sure that their property is completely uninhabitable once they are forced off of it. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of farmers out there who will poison every borehole, burn down every structure, kill every last bit of game and scorch every last field on their way out. They will make sure that their farms are completely and utterly unusable for decades to come.

Exactly. You wanna steal from me... I'll leave behind a scorched earth.

 

[deweyzeph]

Nothing like a few dead chickens down a borehole, diesel in the crop sprayer ... and mortgaged to the hilt before disappearing to another country. Help yourself.

Won't be the first time it's done either.

The thing is, farmers who are pushed to this point have nothing to lose. Their farms are their lives. If the government thinks they are just going to come and take a farmer's land whose farm has probably been in his family for generations without any violent confrontation then they seriously underestimate the amount of resistance facing them. I seriously doubt that South African farmers, especially Afrikaans ones, will be as easy to push over as white Zimbabwean farmers were. South African farmers are better armed, more organised, and Afrikaans farmers in particular, are groomed from birth for exactly this eventuality. It's in their blood ever since the days of the Groot Trek. I really hope it doesn't come to that, because this country will be wracked by civil war and we'll go back to being the pariah state we were during Apartheid.

 

[MidnightWizard]

I wonder if the government has factored into account the possibility that any landowner who is told that their property will be taken without any compensation will make sure that their property is completely uninhabitable once they are forced off of it. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of farmers out there who will poison every borehole, burn down every structure, kill every last bit of game and scorch every last field on their way out. They will make sure that their farms are completely and utterly unusable for decades to come.

People here talk a lot without actually knowing much .....

What an UTTERLY PATHETIC approach and philosophy
It appears some people have not yet worked out that -- "SCORCHED EARTH" works BOTH ways !

When the person has done all this destruction are they just going to get in an airplane and immediately leave the country ?
What about their wife and kids ?

In Zimbabwe it was a criminal offense to destroy any farm equipment or improvements.
In any case it is NOT necessary
On nearly all the farms in Zimbabwe that were expropriated the "new-owners" pretty much did the "Scorched-Earth" THEMSELVES !

 

[MidnightWizard]

Nothing like a few dead chickens down a borehole, diesel in the crop sprayer ... and mortgaged to the hilt before disappearing to another country. Help yourself.

Won't be the first time it's done either.

SO SHORTSIGHTED !

 

[deweyzeph]

People here talk a lot without actually knowing much .....

What an UTTERLY PATHETIC approach and philosophy
It appears some people have not yet worked out that -- "SCORCHED EARTH" works BOTH ways !

When the person has done all this destruction are they just going to get in an airplane and immediately leave the country ?
What about their wife and kids ?

In Zimbabwe it was a criminal offense to destroy any farm equipment or improvements.
In any case it is NOT necessary
On nearly all the farms in Zimbabwe that were expropriated the "new-owners" pretty much did the "Scorched-Earth" THEMSELVES !

I think if you're in the position of losing everything, you're highly unlikely to care about the law or criminal offenses or the consequences of your actions. In any case, I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I'm not condoning this sort of behaviour, but who the hell knows what anyone pushed to the edge is capable of doing.

 

[Superman-7]

I wonder if the government has factored into account the possibility that any landowner who is told that their property will be taken without any compensation will make sure that their property is completely uninhabitable once they are forced off of it. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of farmers out there who will poison every borehole, burn down every structure, kill every last bit of game and scorch every last field on their way out. They will make sure that their farms are completely and utterly unusable for decades to come.

I understand where you're coming from, but this sort of behaviour just isn't part of the culture of the average farmer. Certainly other cultures will definitely exhibit this sort of behaviour.

 

[MidnightWizard]

I think if you're in the position of losing everything, you're highly unlikely to care about the law or criminal offenses or the consequences of your actions. In any case, I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I'm not condoning this sort of behaviour, but who the hell knows what anyone pushed to the edge is capable of doing.

Talk about being pushed to the edge

Why not look up who tried to kill Verwoerd --and -- who actually did ! (very fascinating reading )
NOT the ANC / PAC / SACP / COSATU ....

ONLY [ APARTHEID ] SA statesman to be assassinated
Why was Botha not ?
Why were none of the rest ?

WHY have none of the ANC statesman been -- assassinated ?

I wonder IF ANYONE has actually -- "been pushed to the edge" ...?

 

[thestaggy]

People saying farmers won't destroy their own things if they are forced off their own land.

I suggest you open a history book and read up on human behaviour during times of conflict. People have destroyed their own bridges and dams; burnt their own farms; slaughtered their own livestock and in general have deprived their enemy of anything of use even if it meant hardship for themselves.

 

[dj2381]

If I was losing my house I would absolutely destroy the plumbing and electrical and also tell the homeless in the area they are welcome to come and live in the house.

 

[MidnightWizard]

People saying farmers won't destroy their own things if they are forced off their own land.

I suggest you open a history book and read up on human behaviour during times of conflict. People have destroyed their own bridges and dams; burnt their own farms; slaughtered their own livestock and in general have deprived their enemy of anything of use even if it meant hardship for themselves.

My Dear Fellow

YOU are sounding very much like -- Cato the Elder

CARTHAGO DELENDA EST: AITIA AND PROPHASIS* ( PDF )

"WE" are NOT Romans and THIS is NOT CARTHAGE !

PUNIC Wars

 

[Willie Trombone]

If I was losing my house I would absolutely destroy the plumbing and electrical and also tell the homeless in the area they are welcome to come and live in the house.

One month after you do that, some random guy in the department of land reform is fired and you get it back.

 

[Brontosaurus]

People saying farmers won't destroy their own things if they are forced off their own land.

I suggest you open a history book and read up on human behaviour during times of conflict. People have destroyed their own bridges and dams; burnt their own farms; slaughtered their own livestock and in general have deprived their enemy of anything of use even if it meant hardship for themselves.

Whether they decide to or not makes zero difference. It will be a barren wasteland in a few months regardless.