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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa promulgated a bill that will allow the government to confiscate land without having to pay compensation, which some members of the Government consider a threat to private property.
The law, which replaces the predemocratic expropriation law of 1975, “describes how expropriation can be carried out and on what basis” by the State, says the government, according to the BBC.
The Ramaphosa party, the African National Congress (ANC), praised the law as an “important milestone.” However, some members of the government have indicated that they will question the legality of the law.
Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, pronounces a speech during a plenary session at the Congress Hall during the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21, 2025. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via Ap)
The majority of the country’s black citizens have only a small fraction of agricultural lands more than 30 years after the end of apartheid. The majority of land owners are part of the White minority, according to the press report.
The new law allows the expropriation of land without compensation only in circumstances in which it is “fair and equitable and of public interest.”
That includes when the property is not in use and there is no intention to develop it or if it represents a risk for public security.
“According to this law, an expropriative authority cannot expropriate properties arbitrarily or for a purpose that is not public or of public interest,” said Vincent Magwenya, president’s spokesman, in a press release.
Brook Cheuvront, a student missing from North Carolina, 20, found dead in South Africa
Table Mountain in Cabo Cape, South Africa, in July 2023 (Khabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua via getty images)
“The expropriation cannot be exercised unless the expropriation authority has tried without success to reach an agreement with the owner or holder of a right on a property for its acquisition in reasonable terms,” he added.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the second party of the Government, said that “is firmly opposed” to the law and was consulting with its lawyers.
He says that although he supports the legislation addressed by land restitution, he disagrees with the process followed by the country’s parliament to promulgate the law, says the BBC report.
The ANC party in South Africa has presented candidates facing corruption charges. (Reuters/Mike Hutchings)
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The Freedom Front Plus party, which defends the rights of the Blanca minority of South Africa, promised to challenge the law and do “everything within its reach” to modify it if it is determined that it is unconstitutional.
