The Western Cape government has opposed the 18th Amendment Bill to the Constitution which seeks to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation.
The provincial government on Tuesday shared its decision to oppose the Amendment Bill through its comments submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee dealing with land expropriation.
Western Cape leaders said that an amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution would be irrational and would destroy the rule of law.
“We have, from the outset, opposed expropriation without compensation. The right to property is an important right that cannot be done away with,” Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said.
In its submissions to the Ad Hoc Committee the Western Cape government explained that expropriation without compensation is not the appropriate intervention to address issues of land reform.
Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said that the Amendment Bill or proposed national legislation would not create meaningful land reform but rather risk exposure to unintended spill-over consequences.
“We believe it will have disastrous implications for the South African economy, not only for food security but the banking industry in South Africa and for the private property market in South Africa,” Meyer said.
The Ad Hoc Committee to introduce legislation amending Section 25 of the Constitution to allow expropriation of land without compensation will consider all feedback on the matter and will report back to Parliament.