Defeat of Section 25 amendment a victory for South Africans

8 December 2021

The defeat of expropriation without compensation in Parliament yesterday is a victory for secure property rights, which is the pre-requisite for economic growth and getting more people out of poverty.

In Cape Town, we are committed to expanding property rights for more Capetonians, not seeing property ownership limited to a few. We want to see more Capetonians owning their own homes, and having secure tenure, not living as permanent insecure tenants of the state.

This is real empowerment, and is one of the most powerful ways to break intergenerational poverty by helping people own real assets.

But our commitment to more housing and expanding security of tenure requires a framework of secure legal property rights. That is why the defeat of the Section 25 expropriation amendment is a victory for all South Africans, and particularly the poor.

Yesterday, MPs successfully voted to prevent the proposed amendment to Section 25. This amendment, had it passed, would have done irreparable harm to the economy. Even the destructive and unnecessary proposal of this amendment has harmed our economy significantly, and so has kept more people in poverty than would otherwise have been the case.

Until recently, I was also an MP and was involved alongside my party colleagues in Parliament in the fight against this amendment.

The rejection of this clause is a victory for our democracy and for the people of Cape Town, especially those poor residents who deserve much greater security of tenure.

Issued by Greg Wagner, Spokesperson to the Mayor, 8 December 2021