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Readers Letters Footing the bill Your article, Bill of no rights raises a number of pertinent questions about the impact of the Expropriation Bill that is currently before Parliament. There is little doubt that this Bill has potentially devastating effects for the future of South Africa, and that is why the DA is doing all in its power to stop it. The DA fully supports a sustainable and equitable land reform process, however we firmly believe the Expropriation Bill in its current form will have the opposite effect on this process. It will undermine a legally sound land reform programme and, even more seriously, will threaten the very foundation of South Africa’s economic wellbeing – the security of property rights. Unless substantively amended, the Bill will constitute a major threat to some of the most fundamental aspects of the Constitution and thus should be of concern to anyone who holds a right in property or intends to do so in the future, be they urban or rural, black or white. In fact, there is a growing body of legal opinion that indicates that because what actually constitutes property is so poorly defined in the legislation, this could lead to its provisions applying to any form of property – including both immovable and intellectual property. The results of such a broad application are too ghastly to contemplate. If passed in its current form the Bill will create a situation where the Minister will have the power to expropriate any right in property in the ‘public interest’. While this consideration is provided for in the Constitution, it remains far too broadly defined in the legislation and as a result leaves the determination of such an interest to the discretion of the Minister. This will create large-scale uncertainty in the property market. After identifying a property for expropriation, the Bill empowers the Minister to not pay the affected landowner the full market value of the property. Even more disturbing is that the affected landowner is restricted from contesting the amount of compensation offered in a court of law. These two provisions directly undermine Sections 25 and 34 of the Constitution and would seemingly be open to a direct Constitutional Court challenge. The real sadness about this legislation is that there is simply no need for it. The Minister already has the power to expropriate land in prescribed circumstances. Furthermore, the mere fact that government is pursuing such a radical path is an admission that it cannot manage the land reform programme effectively. Instead of undermining the property market, government should be focusing its attention first on allocating sufficient resources to this programme (only R4-billion has been allocated for this purpose each year for the last three years) and second, on ensuring there is sufficient capacity within the state to manage the process (over a quarter of all posts within Land Affairs offices throughout the country are vacant). Ultimately, the success or failure of land reform affects everyone in South Africa. It will be disastrous if as a country we fail to undo the injustices of the past land dispossessions. However, it will be equally disastrous if government puts in place a piece of legislation which is manifestly unconstitutional and a clear threat to South Africa’s economic future. The DA will continue to do all in its power to ensure that land reform is dealt with within a legally sound and sustainable framework. The challenge now for all South Africans who share this vision is to make their voices heard. - Paul Boughey, National Director of Communications, Democratic Alliance Property involves us all. What’s your view? Email letters@thepropertymag.co.za
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