Constitution S25 to change

Expropriation of land recommendations to be tabled in parliament

Parliament’s joint constitutional review committee formally resolved on Thursday to recommend the amendment of section 25 of the constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation.

It recommended that it be made explicit that this was one of the means that could be used to address the skewed land ownership patterns dating back to the colonial era.

Despite strong objections by various opposition parties, who have indicated that they would launch a legal challenge to block the amendment, the ANC, supported by the EFF and UDM used its majority in the committee to push through the recommendation.

A total of 12 MPs voted in favour of the motion to amend the constitution with four opposing it.

The committee’s final report and recommendations will now be tabled in the National Assembly for debate, before being forwarded to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence. Thereafter, another committee in parliament will process the amendment bill. This will include the nuts and bolts of how the clause in question should be redrafted, as well as the precise wording.

The EFF wants this to be concluded before the elections in 2019.

The committee’s acting chair Stan Maila said it had tried as much as possible to accommodate all views in its report.

“It was clear during this process that there was total agreement, that there was a need for urgent and accelerated land reform in order to address the injustices of the past, which were inflicted on the majority of South Africans. The hunger for land among the dispossessed was clear,” said Maila.

Co-chair Lewis Nzimande said skewed land ownership patterns could only be addressed by amending section 25 of the constitution: “South Africans have spoken and we listened to their cry,”

Other opposition parties strongly opposed to the amendment, and with the Institute of Race Relations, have indicated that they were prepared to take legal steps to prevent the “procedurally flawed” amendment to section 25.

The parties opposed to an amendment – the DA, COPE, IFP, Freedom Front Plus, and ACDP – have all said the review committee’s work thus far has been characterised by several procedural flaws.