DA asks Cabinet to act in the national interest and oppose expropriation of land without compensation
17 June 2021
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today written to the national Cabinet reminding them of the oath that they took to defend the Constitution and requesting that they publicly reject the ongoing parliamentary process to pass the 18th Constitution Amendment Bill which seeks to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.
The letter was sent to the Director-General in the Presidency, who also acts as the Secretary to the Cabinet – Ms Phindile Bakeni. We requested that the contents of the letter be read and recorded as part of the official proceedings of any Cabinet meeting to be held immediately after its date of receipt.
National Cabinet has an obligation to protect the integrity of our constitutional Republic and the protection of every citizen’s rights, including property rights. The 18th Constitution Amendment Bill is not only a direct attack on our Bill of rights but threatens the foundations of our constitutional democracy. Cabinet cannot continue to bury its head in the sand while a direct attack on the Constitution is being pursued in Parliament.
South Africa’s constitutional dispensation recognises the rule of law as a sacrosanct value that exists to protect fundamental human rights of all its citizens, including security of property rights.
In our letter, we make the case that upending the current system of private property ownership in favour of State custodianship, as advocated for by the EFF in the Ad-hoc parliamentary committee, will be detrimental to the rule of law as it would mark the end of existing constitutional provisions which guarantee property rights.
Placing land under the custodianship of the State will effectively “nationalise” the land under the control of the State – a disastrous move that will lead to economic devastation and escalating poverty, as it has already done in countries as diverse as Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The 18th Constitution Amendment Bill, if passed, will damage South Africa’s economy much more than Covid-19, which is a temporary phenomenon. Indeed, even flirting with the idea of EWC has already cost our economy dearly.
The value of South Africa’s financial sector has dropped by a third since President Ramaphosa’s first EWC announcement in 2018. South Africa is now the only sizable emerging market country with net outflows of foreign direct investment.
Foreign direct investment fell 46% in SA in 2020 compared with only 11% for Sub-Saharan Africa has a whole.
Amending section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation will not address the systemic challenges currently facing the land reform process in South Africa. What is needed is a pragmatic and rational approach that will operate within the confines of current constitutional provisions on land reform. Cabinet should commit itself to an expedited and transparent land reform process, within the current provisions of the Constitution, and reject the ongoing ill-advised attempt to push for expropriation of land without compensation.
Text of letter:
Director General: Presidency Secretary to Cabinet
Ms. Phindile Baleni
17 June 2021
Ref: 18th Constitution Amendment Bill poses a clear and present danger to the Republic of South Africa
The Democratic Alliance (DA), a political party represented in the National Assembly, requests that the contents of this letter be read and recorded as part of the official proceedings of any Cabinet meeting to be held immediately after its date of receipt.
We are writing to request that the national Cabinet, acting in accordance with its Executive obligations to protect the integrity of our constitutional Republic, publicly reject the ongoing parliamentary process to push for the expropriation of land without compensation (EWC) through the 18th Constitution Amendment Bill.
South Africa's constitutional dispensation recognises the rule of law as a sacrosanct value that exists to protect fundamental human rights of all its citizens, including security of property rights.
We make the case that upending the current system of private property ownership in favour of state custodianship, as advocated for by some political parties represented in the Ad-hoc parliamentary committee that was tasked with amending section 25 of the Constitution, will be detrimental to the rule of law as it would mark the end of existing constitutional provisions which guarantee property rights.
The 18th Constitution Amendment Bill, if passed, will damage South Africa's economy much more than Covid, which is a temporary phenomenon. Indeed, even flirting with the idea of EWC has already cost our economy dearly. The value of South Africa's financial sector has dropped by a third since President Ramaphosa's first EWC announcement in 2018. South Africa is now the only sizable emerging market country with net outflows of foreign direct investment. Foreign direct investment fell 46% in SA in 2020 compared with only 11% for Sub-Saharan Africa has a whole.
To be clear, the bid to place land under the custodianship of the State will effectively "nationalise" the land under the control of the State - a disastrous move that will lead to economic devastation and escalating poverty, as it has already done in countries as diverse as Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
Even more alarming is the attempt by some in the Section 25 Ad-hoc committee to try and include a clause that will exclude the judiciary from adjudicating on land expropriation cases. Besides overstepping Parliament's constitutional role as it cannot prescribe to the judiciary what it can or cannot do, this ill- advised clause is designed to simply deny South Africans their right to fair and administrative justice.
It is now common knowledge that the High Level panel report on land reform that was headed by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, concluded that the real constraints to land reform have been endemic corruption by officials, diversion of the land reform budget to the political elite and a lack of political will. These are all factors that the government has control over without need for recourse to constitutional amendments.
The DA fundamentally disagrees with any position to expropriate land without compensation, because no Constitutional amendment is necessary for substantive land reform. This would take away value and ownership from all South Africans.
Amending section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation will not address the systemic challenges currently facing the land reform process in South Africa. What is needed is a pragmatic and rational approach that will operate within the confines of current constitutional provisions on land reform.
Kind Regards
(obo) Democratic Alliance
Dr Annelie Lotriet MP
Chairperson of the DA Parliamentary Caucus
ENDS
Statement issued by Dr Annelie Lotriet MP - Chairperson of the DA Parliamentary Caucus, 17 June 2021
