STOP
EXPROPRIATION
without compensation!
Expropriation Bill 2020
The ANC’s attempts to allow for expropriation without compensation by changing the Constitution were thwarted in parliament last year. However, the ANC maintains that it will make expropriation without compensation (which is nothing more than state theft of property) a reality despite this setback. The fight for private property in South Africa is therefore not yet over.
One of the alternative ways that the ANC wants to employ to allow it to expropriate property without compensation is through the Expropriation Bill B 23-2020, which was published in the Government Gazette in October 2020. Since then, it has become part of the parliamentary process. According to the Bill, expropriation is defined as the “compulsory acquisition of property by an expropriating authority”, which means that any state organ or department may expropriate private property. The Bill enables the expropriation of any property, and it is therefore not limited to land, but also includes all movable property (for example your possessions) as well as non-movable property (for example your building, house and infrastructure). This Bill does not flow from the process to amend article 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation without compensation; it is an attempt to pave a new way for government to expropriate private property within the current framework of article 25 of the Constitution.
AfriForum submitted written commentary against the Expropriation Bill to the portfolio committee for public works and infrastructure in 2021, as well as a verbal presentation against it.
The portfolio committee will vote on the Expropriation Bill on 14 September 2022. Oppose this Bill together with AfriForum because it endangers private property rights. Please complete the form so that AfriForum can send a letter to the portfolio committee on your behalf.
THE EXPROPRIATION BILL [B 23B – 2020] IS AGAIN OPEN FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
The Expropriation Bill [B 23B – 2020] is once again open for another round of public comment. The Bill currently serves before the National Council of Provinces for approval. Approval by the National Council of Provinces is the final step before the Bill becomes law. Previous comment from the public was not submitted to the National Council of Provinces, but rather to the National Assembly. All previous comment must therefore be submitted again for it to be considered by the National Council of Provinces.
AfriForum submitted our written comment against this Bill to the National Council of Provinces in March 2023. As part of the first phase, the Gauteng Legislator’s Portfolio Committee for Infrastructure Development and Property Management had created a separate opportunity for comment from the public in a provincial context. AfriForum will also submit comment here and also participate in the public hearings. The public can help us in this battle for property rights by also submitting comment this time.
AfriForum simplified and streamlined this process for the public. All that our members and the public must do is to complete the form above. AfriForum will then submit detailed comment against this destructive Bill on your behalf. In the past, various Bills have been halted during this phase – when a Bill is sent to the National Council of Provinces and the President for approval – as a result of public and international pressure. It is essential for civil society and the public to thoroughly use every opportunity at our disposal to verbally oppose this destructive Bill.
April 2022
January 2022
December 2021
April 2022
January 2022
December 2021
The Concept Bill on Expropriation without Compensation was recently published for public comment. If this Bill is approved into law, it would mean that the state will have the power to expropriate land in South Africa without compensation. There are fundamental flaws in the Bill that seriously threaten property rights.
AfriForum has therefore already launched a comprehensive campaign against expropriation without compensation on local, national and international level. Read more about these actions below.
