Parliament, Thursday, 5 December 2019 – The Ad Hoc Committee to Initiate and Introduce Legislation Amending Section 25 of the Constitution today agreed to have the draft Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill which aims to amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 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, be Gazetted.
Committee Chairperson, Dr Mathole Motshekga, said the draft Bill will be published in the Government Gazette next week which will open the door for public participation. The committee further intends to publish an advert on 2 January 2020 that calls for public input until 31 January 2020.
“This will ensure that we comply with the Constitution something which is of paramount importance. The flexibility of the dates for public input also covers the concerns regarding that matter,” said Dr Motshekga.
The Bill proposes that the amount of the compensation as contemplated 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. National legislation must set out specific circumstances where a court may determine that the amount of compensation is nil.
The Bill further aims to clarify that such limitation is a legitimate option for land reform, so as to address the historic wrongs caused by the arbitrary dispossession of land, and in so doing ensure equitable access to land and further empower the majority of South Africans to be productive participants in ownership, food security and agricultural reform programs.
Some members of the committee indicated that as the legislative process is ongoing, they will continue to participate in the process and then provide a list of specific circumstances under which expropriation can take place at nil compensation.
Dr Motshekga said the committee will ensure that all the views are tested as that is in line with South Africa’s participatory democracy. “The process is continuous. Political parties that still want to make further proposals will not be precluded from doing so,” added Dr Motshekga.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE TO INITIATE AND INTRODUCE LEGISLATION AMENDING SECTION 25 OF THE CONSTITUTION, DR MATHOLE MOTSHEKGA
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