expropriation bill to go before parliament
06 March 2008

The Expropriation Amendment Bill is to go before Parliament as current legislation is not consistent with the Constitution, Government Spokesperson Themba Maseko said.Speaking at a Post-Cabinet briefing at the Union Buildings, Mr Maseko said the Bill was approved in the ordinary Cabinet meeting and will be sent to Parliament in the coming weeks for adoption.

“The current Expropriation Bill is out dated and is not in line with the constitution,” said Mr Maseko.  He said the Minister of Public Works Thoko Didiza will in a few days  update the public on the problems within the Bill as it stands.  Land Reform in South Africa has been clouded by heated debate between government and farmer unions which argue that land expropriation must be handled on a willing seller-willing buyer principle.

The unions also feel that compensation for farms must be on par with market value.  However, farmers have in the past been accused of stalling the country’s land reform programme by inflating property prices beyond what could be considered reasonable market value.  By August 2007, the Land Claims Commission had settled 93 percent of claims lodged by claimants dispossessed of their land during Apartheid’s forced removals.  This 93 percent translates into a settlement of 74 559 of the 79 696 claims lodged before the 31 December 1998 deadline.

Addressing the media in October 2007, the then Chief Land Claims Commissioner Thozi Gwanya, who was appointed as Director General in the Department of Land Affairs, said the purpose of the restitution process was to ensure that there is redress for all those who were victims of racially discriminatory laws and practices.  The commission is mandated to transfer 30 percent of commercial farm land to black beneficiaries by 2014, translating to about 25 million hectares of land.  Mr Gwanya said they believed that about 6 million people were dispossessed of their land.

To date, he said, 453 840 households have benefited from the restitution process, equating to some two million hectares of land that has been redistributed to claimants.  Mr Maseko also announced the establishment of a national department for traditional leadership.  This department, he said, “will play a key role in the restoration of the dignity of traditional leadership which is the custodian of African customs and heritage. 

“The process will begin in the 2009/10 financial year and it is expected that the department will be fully operational by the 2010/11 financial year.  The newly established department will report to the Minister of Provincial and Local Government, said Mr Maseko.

Michael Appel, www.buanews.gov.za