New land Bill not unreasonable

The news that government is one step closer to expropriating land without compensation – coming as it does as the issue of farm murders flares up – will have many, both inside and outside the agricultural sector – fearing for their future.

The chief state law advisor has certified the Expropriation Bill, paving the way for the Bill to be gazetted and submitted to parliament.

Yet, a dispassionate reading of the conditions under which expropriation can take place does offer some comfort to those who think their land can be seized on a whim by the government.

On Sunday, various government ministers laid out the terms of the Bill which look to be reasonable … especially in a developing country which has to balance hunger for land restitution against the need not to damage the critical agriculture industry, nor to scare away local or foreign investors.

Central to the Bill appears to be the stipulation that the state may expropriate land without compensation if the land is not being used and the owner’s main purpose is not to develop the land or use it to generate income, but to benefit from appreciation of its market value.

That means land speculators – who actually add little of value to the economy – will be primary targets.

And who can complain about that?

The Bill also proposes expropriation without compensation of land held by a state organ and not using for its core functions and unlikely to require the land for its future activities.

Also targeted by the Bill is abandoned land that owners have failed to control as well as when the nature or condition of the property posed a health, safety or physical risk to persons or other property.

Again, those requirements seem to be logical and would open up swathes of land to be looked at for land reform.

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