ANC rushes land expropriation Bill ahead of elections

The DA notes that Cabinet has approved the new Land Expropriation Bill, which now stands to be gazetted this week and to be followed by a sixty-day comment period till February.

The ANC's fake concern with land reform intensifies greatly with every election cycle. Rushing these kinds of amendments will only offer a disservice to South Africans, as such a bill has far-ranging consequences and all decisions related to it need to be made with care and consideration.

The DA is furthermore concerned that the failing ANC is using expropriation as an electioneering tool. This being based on the evidence provided by the ANC itself in previous elections, which did the very same with the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act that was pushed through before the 2014 elections. The urgency attached to this Bill is entirely arbitrary.

The process of changing Section 25 of the constitution to allow for expropriation without compensation is still ongoing and there is no objective reason why the process should be rushed or why the Sixth Parliament cannot consider the proposed constitutional amendments before this Bill is passed.

This is pure political expedience.

The DA wants South Africans to own their land and property in a South Africa which suffers from a history of black people being denied land ownership. We do not need to change the Constitution to address this, we need government action. What we most certainly do not need, is the EFF’s plan to make government the owner of all property and land, forcing citizens to rent their homes and land from government for life.

The DA believes that people must own their land because they are the ones who best know how to use their land. Let’s bring land reform that makes the people land owners, not life-long tenants. Lets ensure that this process is done so correctly and not rushed as an electioneering tool to garner votes.

Our success in the Western Cape has shown that we are serious about land reform and it can be done within the current constitutional framework.

Statement issued by Thandeka Mbabama MP, DA Team One SA Spokesperson on Land, 9 December 2018