Cape Town - The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) says it will head to the Constitutional Court should President Cyril Ramaphosa sign into law the Expropriation Bill, claiming it is unconstitutional and will destroy South Africa’s economy.
The controversial bill, which has been widely criticised has been in the making for 16 years. It only awaits the president’s signature for it to become law. This comes after the National Council of Provinces recently endorsed it with some minor proposed amendments that were eventually adopted by the National Assembly on Wednesday.
According to Parliament, the main objective of this bill is to ensure that expropriation laws are in line with the Constitution of South Africa. Local, provincial and national authorities will use this legislation to expropriate land in the public interest to, among other things, promote inclusivity and access to natural resources.
Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, said the ANC’s decision to finally adopt the Expropriation Bill spells disaster for South Africa, and the FF Plus will initiate a legal process to oppose it all the way to the Constitutional Court.
“Legal action will be instituted as soon as the President signs it into law.”
He stated that South Africa’s economy will be destroyed if investors have no certainty regarding their property rights and are not making light of the matter.
“One of the most important cornerstones of a free-market economic system is the right to privately own land and property, and this bill undermines that right in all respects. Everything is in jeopardy, from tangible to intellectual property,” said Groenewald.
“The FF Plus considers expropriation without compensation to be unconstitutional and will continue to fight it along with other political parties and organisations that feel just as strongly about it. Everyone in South Africa, and in any other democratic dispensation, has the right to own property, and the government has no right to unilaterally expropriate it.
The DA, which has raised numerous concerns about the bill, said it is inconsistent with Section 25 of the Constitution, which provides that property can only be expropriated “subject to compensation”.
“The ANC-led government, unconcerned by tampering with our constitutional rights in this way and with some fancy footwork, has snuck a provision into the bill to allow for expropriation with ‘nil compensation’ in the hopes that this would pass constitutional muster. It is patently obvious to anyone who reads this bill, will see it as nothing more than expropriation without compensation in disguise.”
The DA said it will continue to fight this ‘archaic’ bill to the very end in order to protect the property rights of South Africans.
“The ANC is risking the property rights of millions of South Africans purely for cheap political gain. As we see the ANC falling substantially below 50% in voter support, the DA will not allow them to pass dangerous legislation for bad faith electioneering.”
The DA has also confirmed that it will instruct its attorneys to send a letter of demand to the President to demand that he refer the bill back to the NA for reconsideration of its constitutionality.
“In terms of the Constitution, the President must refer a bill back to the NA where constitutional concerns exist.”
zolani.sinxo@inl.co.za