Expropriation without Compensation: HAVE YOUR SAY

EXPROPRIATION WITHOUT COMPENSATION

DO NOT allow this amendment to be passed which aims to –
“provide that where land and any improvements thereon are expropriated for the purposes of land reform, nil compensation may be payable.”

HAVE YOUR SAY

With limited time remaining it is essential that YOU have your say 
We need every voice to unite now!

How: 

1. Make a written submission directly to: section25@parliament.gov.za
   by no later than Saturday, 29 February 2020 
   BCC: info@kwanalu.co.za.  (this will allow us to monitor the process)
2. Alternative address: ramaano@parliament.gov.za
3. Send your submission by using WhatsApp: 081 410 5932
4. Send your inputs to: info@kwanalu.co.za for inclusion in the Kwanalu submission by Saturday, 29 February 2020

What:

Submit your views on the proposed constitutional amendment.
You may provide evidence and supporting information to support your view.

Kwanalu position
According to the mandate from members,
Kwanalu will continue to oppose the constitutional amendment which seeks to
“provide that where land and any improvements thereon are expropriated for the purposes of land reform, nil compensation may be payable.”

A Kwanalu / Agri SA submission which is heavily informed by law, (SA and international), economics, farm realities, member inputs etc. is being drafted for submission to parliament.

Amongst other it includes: 

1. What we consider to be the impediments to land reform and why land reform has thus far been ineffectual. It will substantiate these views by referring to various reports and to the result of the land audit that we supported;
2. International best practice on compulsory acquisition and various international human rights instruments that protect property rights;
3. Some of the possible economic consequences of a scrapping or watering down of property rights protection; and
4. Some plans and proposals for speeding up land reform and ensuring its sustainability.

Kwanalu & Agri SA is firmly of the view that:

1. The property clause in the Constitution is not an impediment to land reform;
2. The real reasons for the slow pace of land reform relate primarily to deficiencies and inefficiencies in planning, execution and sustainable support, which must be urgently addressed. These reasons do not justify an amendment to section 25 of the Constitution;
3. The public debate must be based on credible and relevant information on land ownership, with reference to state owned land available for land reform;
4. The economic consequences of expropriation without compensation must be properly and fully considered;
5. The principle of legality must be honoured and there must be a clear understanding of the circumstances under which the power to expropriate land without compensation may be exercised, by whom and in respect of which landowners;
6. Current landowners should not be required to bear a disproportionate burden of the imperative for land reform in the public interest;
7. Agri SA’s Land Plan and Funding Plan propose the following salient solutions:

• Partnership models;
• A Special Purpose Vehicle for implementation;
• Sustainable financing models;
• A Social Accord; and
• Support for communal farmers.

Kwanalu & Agri SA opposes any amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution.

Kwanalu’s stance is that the property clause is not an impediment to land reform and that no changes need to be made to Section 25 of the Constitution to achieve just and equitable land redistribution.

Evidence suggests a reduction in the recognition of property rights will endanger investment into the capital improvement of the land both by primary as well as secondary agriculture. The financial sector will reassess their exposure to risk in this sector as this asset base is devalued and diversify into other areas of the economy.  This risk will not only impact on existing commercial farmers, but also render new black farmers vulnerable.  If lenders consider land value to be zero, the collateral base of farmland will be totally eroded, and farmers will be unable to get production loans.

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” definition of food security, FAO.

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On 6 December 2019 a proposed amendment to the Constitution of South Africa was published in Government Gazette 42909-13-12.  Simply, this amendment will seek to provide that where land and any improvements thereon are expropriated for the purposes of land reform, nil compensation may be payable.

CONSTITUTION EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT BILL

To amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to provide that where land and any improvements thereon are expropriated for the purposes of land reform, the amount of compensation payable may be nil; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS there is a need for urgent and accelerated land reform in order to address the injustices of the past that were inflicted on the majority of South Africans and especially as the hunger for land amongst the dispossessed is palpable and the dispossessed are of the view that very little is being done to redress the skewed land ownership pattern;

AND WHEREAS section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, must be amended to make explicit that which is implicit therein, so that an amount of nil compensation is explicitly stated as a legitimate option for land reform;

AND WHEREAS such an amendment will contribute to address the historic wrongs caused by the arbitrary dispossession of land;

AND WHEREAS such an amendment will further ensure equitable access to land and will further empower the majority of South Africans to be productive participants in ownership, food security and agricultural reform programs,

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—

Amendment of section 25 of Constitution 

1. Section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (2) for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:

‘‘(b) subject to compensation, the amount of which and the time and manner of payment of which have either been agreed to by those affected or decided or approved by a court: Provided that in accordance with subsection (3A) a court may, where land and any improvements thereon are expropriated for the purposes of land reform, determine that the amount of compensation is nil.’’;

(b) by the substitution in subsection (3) for the words preceding paragraph (a) of the following words:

‘‘(3) The amount of the compensation as contemplated in subsection (2)(b), and the time and manner of any payment, must be just and equitable, reflecting an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including—’’; and

(c) by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsection:

‘‘(3A) National legislation must, subject to subsections (2) and (3), set out specific circumstances where a court may determine that the amount of compensation is nil.’’.

Short title and commencement

2. This Act is called the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act, 2019, and comes into operation on a date determined by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.