‘They can take all property’: SA divided over new Expropriation Bill

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the Land Expropriation Bill into law left the country divided and sparked fears of private property expropriation without compensation.

With prospects of the return of land to the historically dispossessed black South African majority, the law provides for:

• The expropriation of land with nil compensation; and
• Certain instances where expropriation with nil compensation may be appropriate in the public interest to enable land reform and redress.

AfriForum ready to take legal action

AfriForum head of public relations Ernst van Zyl said they were ready to take legal action to protect property owners if targeted by the government of national unity (GNU) with expropriation without compensation.

“The promulgation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act, and now the signing of the Expropriation Bill, indicates that the ANC is effectively trying to use the GNU to coopt the former opposition parties to help carry out every one of its destructive policies,” he said.

Van Zyl said AfriForum will launch substantial legal action to protect private property rights if the government targets property for expropriation without compensation.

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“With the signing of this Bill, the GNU has sanctioned a substantial threat to the right to private property in this country.”

Black Farmers Association of South Africa (Bfasa) president Dr Lennox Mtshagi said the Bill was long overdue to be signed.

Mtshagi said Bfasa would support it 100% if it was going to benefit farmers who need land, not friends, families and politicians who know nothing about farming and not to be used to settle scores.

Expropriation Bill was long overdue to be signed – Bfasa

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said if aspects of the Bill did not comply with the constitution, it was free for anyone to test it in court and might be referred back to the National Assembly.

Croucamp added it would be a process. “A year or two ago the EFF and ANC sought to change Section 35 of the constitution that deals with ownership and that section wasn’t changed.”

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa signs controversial Expropriation Bill into law

The principle of no compensation doesn’t mean you won’t get compensation for the farm, or it will be taken without compensation, he said.

Free State farmer Tewie Wessels said it was no surprise that the ANC passed such a Bill.

“The shock, however, is that the DA and VF+ will still remain part of the GNU. The Bill will hurt the DA but destroy the FF+. Shouldn’t they immediately withdraw from the GNU?” he asked.

Should DA and FF+ withdraw from GNU?

Wessels said people of all races were worried about the law because the state could even take the land of black farmers who work hard, if a corrupt official decided so.

“They can also take all property – and I believe they will do that,” he said.

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Freedom Front (FF) Plus leader Pieter Groenewald said: “We will challenge the law in the Constitutional Court. The Act clearly states it applies to movable and immovable, such as intellectual, property ownership,” he said.

Groenewald said the president did not consult with the GNU before signing the law.

Transvaal Landbou Unie (TLU) general manager Bennie van Zyl said while most South Africans struggled to revive the country’s economy, the government remained trapped in a victory of ideology over economic realities.

Govt trapped in victory of ideology over economic realities

“This decision signals a serious attack on the foundation of property rights, threatening not only farmers, but all South Africans. The government presents this law as an instrument for transformation and public interest, but the reality is that it will have far-reaching negative consequences for food security, investor confidence, and economic stability,” he said.

Van Zyl said the law claims to align with Article 25 of the constitution, but its definitions of just and equitable compensation and public interest were vague and open to subjective interpretation.

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“These grey areas enable abuse, corruption, and unfair practices, plunging property owners from all backgrounds into uncertainty,” he said.

Additional reporting by Brian Sokotu