Landowners who refuse amounts offered during expropriation should have their land taken away with no payment, ANC Youth League chief Julius Malema said on Friday.

"Willing seller, willing buyer is not working, Black Economic Empowerment is not working," Malema told the Mail & Guardian when asked what the ANCYL meant when it said it did not want leaders to tell the queen (of England) that economic policies would not change.

Malema said that in 10 years, a certain percentage of land should have been transferred to the majority of the population.

"It's a simple policy. We're going to take the land, but we'll compensate and we'll determine the price. We go to [Eugene] Terre'Blanche's farm and say: for these many hectares we will give you R2-million, thank you very much.

 "If you say that's too little and you don't want it, then we take the land and give you nothing. It's called expropriation with compensation determined by the state."

Without mentioning President Jacob Zuma, who travelled to the United Kingdom earlier this year and met Queen Elizabeth II, he said that when the ANCYL was formed, it was opposed to forms of struggle such as petitions, or "sending delegations to the queen".

Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson congratulated Western Cape Premier Helen Zille on Friday for suggesting a 50/50 equity share scheme between farmers and their workers.

"If Premier Zille is saying 50/50, then it is radical and she deserves a round of applause for that," Joemat-Pettersson said at the start of a two-day farm workers summit in Somerset West outside of Cape Town.

"But she must bring her constituency to the table and then we'll talk about it," the minister said to applause from farm workers and delegates.

Zille said in her speech that equity share schemes were "desirable" because they were a model of genuine broad-based black economic empowerment.

"There's also evidence from government research that 50/50 equity share schemes are the most productive land reform model by far," Zille said.

"When equity share schemes work they are productive, sustainable and offer real empowerment.

"Equity share schemes had been used, but had to come to a halt due to problems with monitoring grants and budget constraints.

Following the revelation by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform yesterday, in response to a Democratic Alliance (DA) question, that his Department owes land claimants R3.4-billion in post-settlement grants, I will be requesting a meeting with the Minister to discuss alternatives to current government policy that will ensure that despite the lack of funds, land claim beneficiaries are still awarded much-needed post settlement support.

It is glaringly apparent that land reform policy, as currently formulated, is doing little to achieve one of its primary aims: ensuring sustainable livelihoods for those people who have benefitted from land redistribution. It is not enough for the Department to focus on cosmetic changes - claimants benefitting from land redistribution require funds to assist them in ensuring that their new livelihoods are both successful and sustainable.

Yesterday it was revealed that the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform owes R3.5-billion for post-settlement grants. The full details of this funding shortfall are as follows:

“It’s in no one’s interest – and certainly not in the interest of the poor – to introduce drastic land reform measures that will undermine confidence and have an adverse effect on food security. Deficiencies in the implementation of existing policy should instead be addressed and partnerships should be formed with the private sector to ensure sustainable and accelerated land reform,” said Agri SA president Johannes Möller.

He was commenting on statements issued by President Zuma and other government spokespersons during the past three months regarding elements of an amended policy with a view to more aggressive and fundamental progress with accelerated access to land for the previously disadvantaged. According to Möller, administrative incompetence with the implementation of land reform was the main reason why the government was now considering radical changes to its policy in order to implement the ANC’s Polokwane resolutions on accelerated land reform.

Although Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Nkwinti, Deputy Minister Phaala and Minister Joemat-Pettersson said that Agri SA had been consulted, no such consultation had taken place as the government had dealt with the policy review as an internal process, according to Möller.  “Agri SA is concerned that consultation after the publication of a Green Paper on this important and highly emotional matter could leave very little room for changes. A Green Paper represents the well-considered opinion of the government. Statements issued by politicians therefore make us very concerned about possible over-regulation by the state, which could undermine market principles. It would have been better had the Green Paper appeared after  more effective consultation with the affected parties in the land market so that confidence was not unnecessary undermined to the detriment of food security and economic prosperity in general,” said Möller.