Western Cape Government Not On Board with Expropriation Without Compensation Bill, Set to Oppose It

• The Western Cape government says they are not in agreement with the land expropriation Amendment Bill
• They argue that land expropriation without compensation is not the solution the South African government thinks it is
• For land expropriation without compensation to come into fruition, Section 25 of the Constitution needs to be amended

CAPE TOWN - As the Ad Hoc Committee is set to table the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution in Parliament in order to make allowance for the land expropriation without compensation bill, the Western Cape government says it will fight against the new law.

The Western Cape government believes that land expropriation without compensation is not the best way to address land redistribution and unequal property ownership systems in South Africa, according to SABC News.

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Minister of Agriculture in the Western Cape Ivan Meyer says the new bill will have severely affect property rights in South Africa and will have a negative effect on the economy.

Meyer says the provincial government believes that property owners should be allowed to keep their land and have ownership of said land. As result, Meyer says the Western Cape will oppose the bill.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says the South African government cannot simply remove property rights from South Africans, reports News24.

Winde says there is no need to amend the Constitution because as it stands, the Constitution is not against the expropriation of land without compensation in some cases.

"The Constitution doesn't stop us from pursuing expropriation without compensation, and it doesn't say that compensation is required," says Winde.

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Winde also added that not only is the existing amendment Bill perplexing and vague but it also aims to do away with the Constitutional function of the courts when it comes to determining compensation for landowners whose property is being expropriated.

He also argues that making allowance for land expropriation in South Africa could lead to maladministration and corruption by government officials.

Expropriation Bill gets legal nod of approval, now it's Parliament's turn

Briefly News previously reported that the controversial bill aimed at allowing the government to expropriate land has been revised and legal experts have said that the new bill is valid from a constitutional perspective.

However, Parliament needs to vote on the bill to pass it into law. The most controversial aspect of the bill is that it can allow the government to expropriate land without compensation.

The bill was published in the Government Gazette on 9 October and will now be open for debate within Parliament.

The Citizen reported that Parliament had initially found that the bill was at odds with section 25 of the Constitution, which would need to be amended to allow the bill to be passed.

Source: Briefly News