Civil Society Distressed by Expropriation Bill

Concern Over Expropriation Bill

An article in the Sunday Tribune has reported that civil society organizations believe the draft Expropriation Bill currently before Parliament is ‘the greatest single threat yet to the national accord on which the new South Africa was founded’.

The ad-hoc Committee for the Defence of Property Rights has said that, “It is deeply rooted in the ANC’s national democratic revolution which has as one of its central goals the radical redistribution of property”.

The committee is comprised of the FW de Klerk Foundation, the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CFCR) and Afriforum. Speaking about the Bill, the committee insisted that it would have ‘disastrous consequences, was unconstitutional, would seriously damage the economy, threaten SA’s food security, damage race relations and was unnecessary’.

A petition has been launched by the committee against the Bill, calling on the President and government, as well as the ANC leadership to withdraw the Bill. The petition states that there are serious flaws because:

- It is unconstitutional and will lead to arbitrary deprivation of property because compensation will be determined by “executive diktat”. Market value will be downgraded as a factor in deciding compensation, and the role of the courts will be limited to an absolute minimum;

- It will seriously damage the economy by undermining domestic and foreign investor confidence. It will empower the state to expropriate any property (not just land) for any purpose it deems in the “public interest”. Security of ownership of private property is a fundamental requirement for all successful economies;

- South Africa’s food security will be threatened. Most of the farmland that has been expropriated thus far has experienced substantial declines in production. Successful food production requires large-scale farming, large capital reserves, high levels of technology and extensive experience and training;

- Serious strain will be placed on interracial relations. Apart from its proclaimed objectives, the Bill’s primary intention is to deprive South African citizens – against their will and on the basis of their race – of property in which they might have invested their life’s labour and resources, as well as deep and long-standing emotional and family connections. It will inevitably be viewed by the target community as an assault on their fundamental constitutional right, an attempt to limit the protection afforded to them by the courts, and as yet another blow to the national accord negotiated between 1990 and 1996, upon which any hope of national unity depends;

- It is simply unnecessary. More than 5% of agricultural land comes onto the market every year. Government already owns vast tracts of land that can be utilized for redistribution. Organised agriculture has repeatedly expressed its willingness to work with government to promote fair, effective and sustainable land reform.

The draft bill has been criticized for similar reasons by a number of organizations appearing before the National Assembly’s public works committee hearings around the country over the past few weeks.

The last two days of public hearings on the matter are being held at parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Yesterday, committee chairperson Thandi Tobias-Pokolo assured all presenters that each input would be thoroughly considered and taken into account.

The information in this article is courtesy of Sapa (“Expropriation Bill threatens SA”, Sunday Tribune, 17 June 2008).

If you would like to buy or sell property in South Africa, please visit www.sahometraders.co.za.