October 2020
The Expropriation Bill of 2020 was published, gazetted and introduced as part of the parliamentary process in the National Assembly. According to the Bill, expropriation is a “compulsory acquisition of property by an expropriating authority”, which means any state organ or department may expropriate private property. The Bill enables the expropriation of any “property” and this is not limited to land, which includes all movable property such as a person’s possessions, and immovable property such as buildings, houses and infrastructure. This Bill does not flow from the process to amend Section 25 of the South African Constitution to enable expropriation at nil compensation. This Expropriation Bill seeks to open a new avenue for the government to expropriate private property within the framework of Section 25 of the Constitution.
