Constitutional amendment is faltering – DA

An agreement between the ANC and EFF on how to change the wording of Article 25 of the Constitution seems unlikely, according to DA MP Annette Steyn.

The controversial proposed amendment, meant to make explicit that nil compensation could be awarded for land targeted for land reform, was due to be presented to the National Assembly by the end of August.

DA MP Annelie Lotriet added that if the committee could not agree on how the amendment should read, it would have to report this to Parliament, and that would end the process.

However, the ANC had the majority in the committee, so it could push through proposed wording to Parliament.

The ANC was pushing for an amendment, which would recognise several types of landownership, including state custodianship under certain conditions, while the EFF was adamant that all land should be under state custodianship.

The DA and several lobby groups had argued that amendments to the Constitution would do more harm than good. The ANC needed a two-thirds majority to effect the changes, which meant it needed the support of the EFF, Steyn said.

Adding to this, two prominent ANC figures, Thabo Mbeki and Trevor Manuel, recently voiced their concern about the direction the ANC had taken with this proposed amendment.

According to media reports, Mbeki was quoted as saying that the ANC’s current proposals would damage investment and fuel tribalism in South Africa.

He reportedly said that the current proposals would allow for the expropriation without compensation of property such as a fully invested and developed mine, and this would be bad for investor sentiment.

Manuel reportedly added that current research indicated that progress was being made with land reform, but the proponents for a constitutional amendment were choosing to ignore this.

He referred to 2020 data from Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research, which indicated a 67% completion of transformation targets as set out in the National Development Plan.

Annelize Crosby, head of Land Affairs at Agri SA, told Farmer’s Weekly it seemed the tide was turning for the Article 25 amendment debate, as a consensus view between the ANC and EFF seemed unlikely at this stage.

She added that both parties’ recent proposals on custodianship were outside the original mandate of the committee tasked with drafting the amendment.

“Radical suggestions such as state custodianship would require a 75% majority to be passed into law, and we will fight it in court if need be,” Crosby said. – Wouter Kriel