COSATU commends Parliament for adopting the Expropriation Act

26 May 2016

The Congress of South African Trade Unions commends Parliament for adopting the progressive Expropriation Act and we believe that this is an important legislative tool to build a capacitated developmental state.

The federation strongly supports its progressive provisions, which will enable government to expropriate land and other property in support of the constitutionally provided objectives of land reform, addressing the legacies of apartheid and colonialism. This law will help government ensure public access and ownership of South Africa's natural resources, including mineral and water, and providing security for the dispossessed victims of apartheid such as holders of unregistered rights.

These are all provisions provided for in our democratic Constitution but where government has been blocked from providing to the people because of resistance to transformation. The Act further provides clear time frames to overcome the current problems where expropriation cases are deliberately delayed in perpetuity by the wealthy.

The new Valuer General will help ensure that public funds are no longer looted by unscrupulous wealthy owners, through exorbitant compensation claims as we saw through the R800 million paid for the Mala Mala Game Reserve two years ago.  This prevented other cases of land reform from being dealt with.

The Act provides for access to courts which guarantee the legal rights of all affected parties.  This is important as the majority of expropriation cases involve ordinary workers' whose houses may need to be expropriated to allow for roads, dams to be built and in such cases fair compensation must be paid.

COSATU strongly rejects the hysterical attacks on the bill by the DA, Free Market COSATU strongly believes that all laws must be in line with the progressive transformation provisions of our democratic constitution. 

Their objections are devoid of facts, logic or honesty.  In fact, all property owners will benefit from the checks and balances and legal protections and certainties provided for in the Act. The SAIRR, FMF and DA clearly miss and are nostalgic for an era, where this country belonged to minority and the majority was treated as second class citizens.

Issued by Sizwe Pamla, COSATU National Spokesperson, 26 May 2016