Expropriation Bill is an instrument to legalise land grabs
“The Expropriation Bill which has been approved by the public works portfolio committee is rejected by the FF Plus. It is nothing other than an instrument with which to legalise land grabs by government,” Dr. Pieter Groenewald, the chief spokesperson on land reform for the Freedom Front Plus says.
“Zuma had already in 2015, with the 103rd birthday celebrations in Cape Town (January) said that the principle of ‘willing buyer–willing seller’ delays and causes land reform to fail. He promised that at the time that the ANC would approve an expropriation act which will speed up land reform within legal prescriptions.
“It is not true that the principle of ‘willing buyer–willing’ seller is the cause of the failure of land reform, but it is the incompetence and corruption of officials.
“The definition of ‘property’ in the Bill is the same as it is stated in Section 25(4)(b) of the Constitution and is not restricted to land. This means that immovable property can also be expropriated. Although provision is made that the expropriation authority (the state), in the case of a difference with the owner about the price, will refer the case to the courts, very few owners will have the money to approach the court. Many land owners will be threatened by this to accept the price offered by the state.
“There is no doubt that the ANC will be using this Expropriation Bill to take land from land owners under the guise of public interest,” Groenewald said.
Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus parliamentary spokesperson: Land reform, 3 January 2016
