Cape Town - In a significant development for land reform in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially signed the Expropriation Bill into law.
The landmark legislation was signed to address longstanding issues of land inequality and provide a framework for the expropriation of land without compensation.
The move is positioned as a measure to advance social justice and promote public interest in the country that is still grappling with the legacy of apartheid.
In a statement, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the Bill has undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, and aligns legislation on expropriation with the Constitution.
"Section 25 of the Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation being paid.
“Up to now, expropriation of property has been governed by the Expropriation Act of 1975, which predates the expropriation mechanism provided for in section 25(2) of the Constitution," said Magwenya.
Several voices have opposed the passing of the bill, especially the DA, Freedom Front Plus, and the IFP, which have vowed to take it to the Constitutional Court to challenge the bill's constitutionality.
The GOOD Party on Thursday welcomed signing.
“The Bill is a much-needed improvement on the 1975 Act,” said party secretary-general, Brett Herron.
“Land dispossession, the original sin, has been so inadequately addressed by land reform policies since the demise of apartheid.
“South Africa needs both the tools and political will to set this straight.
“The sustainability of the constitutional democracy depends on it.
“Expropriating land in appropriate circumstances is one of the tools at government's disposal to accelerate land reform.
“This is not new. For over 40 years the State has been expropriating land under the 1975 Expropriation Act, which has now been replaced.
“Nor is expropriating land without compensation new.
“Section 25 of the Constitution provides for nil compensation in circumstances in which it is just and equitable. And the matter has been settled in law for over 20 years.”