South Africa's Zuma proposes ban on foreigners buying real estate

South African President Jacob Zuma has proposed a law barring foreigners from buying real estate in the country under sweeping land reforms, his office says.

The reforms are aimed at rectifying inequalities that have persisted since colonial days and apartheid, with white farmers still owning most of the land, and are slated to be enacted this year.

The law on foreign ownership cannot be applied retroactively, but the president's office said on Saturday the government could exercise a "right of first refusal ... if the land is deemed strategic".

The reform is aimed at addressing "the need to secure our limited land for food security and address the land injustice of more than 300 years of colonialism and apartheid", the statement said.

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