Who supports the draft amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution?
INTRODUCTION
The Fifth Parliament decided in December 2018 to amend Section 25 of the Constitution, which deals with property rights and forms part of the Bill of Rights. The purpose of the amendment is to make explicit that which is implicit in the Constitution, that expropriation of land without compensation is a legitimate option for land reform. An ad hoc Committee to amend Section 25 of the Constitution was then established to formulate the amendment but, unsurprisingly, was unable to complete its work before the end of the Fifth Parliament.
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SIXTH PARLIAMENT
In July 2019, the Sixth Parliament established ad hoc Committee to initiate and introduce legislation amending Section 25 of Constitution. The Committee started its work in early September and by 25 October it finalized its programme of work. (To see the programme, click here.) A land dialogue workshop and a briefing from the Department of Trade and Industry followed in November. Then on 3 December, Parliamentary Legal Services presented the wording of the Draft Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill to the Committee. Aspects of the draft were discussed at this meeting, but it was noted that members of the Committee needed a chance to consult with their parties. The Chair asked that this consultation should be carried out before a further meeting of the Committee on 5 December, which would decide on the Amendment Bill to be published for public comment by the end of January.
In the event, several parties stated in the 5 December meeting that they had been unable to present the draft Bill to their caucuses as Parliament had gone into recess the previous day. This meant that the only course of action for the Committee was to publish for comment the Draft Bill as presented by the Parliamentary Legal Services on 3 December, without the Committee itself resolving that the Draft Bill was desirable. This in effect left each party, including the ANC and EFF, free to comment on the Bill by the end of January, and to propose any amendments to the Draft Bill it desires.