South Africa’s ruling party plans to change the nation’s constitution to make it easier to seize land without paying for it. Lawmakers have also introduced separate draft legislation that outlines the circumstances under which the state can do this.
The African National Congress (ANC) says amendments are needed to address racially skewed ownership patterns dating back to colonialism and white-minority rule, a view shared by the Economic Freedom Fighters, the second-largest opposition party.
Farmers’ groups and some other opposition parties say the changes would undermine property rights and deter investment, and that they would contest any changes in court.
So where do things stand?
Lawmakers in both chambers of parliament — the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces — in December approved a committee report that recommends the amendment to Section 25 of the constitution, which protects property rights.
Another parliamentary committee was set up on Feb. 12 to draft a bill needed to make the changes and elected ANC lawmaker Thoko Didiza, who served as minister of agriculture from 1999 to 2006, as its chairwoman.
The National Assembly, which adjourns from Thursday next week until after national elections on May 8, will on Monday next week debate whether her committee should continue its work until the day before the vote, or whether the new parliament should revive the process, Didiza said in an interview.
“No wording of the change to Section 25 has been agreed to because, depending what the NA [National Assembly] decides, that task will be given to drafters and then we will have to go through a public participation process about that,” she said.
The National Council of Provinces “will also have to go through a similar process to change the section. So, I don’t see the section being changed and coming into effect before the end of the year, at the very least,” she said.
Given that Section 25 is part of the Bill of Rights of the constitution, two-thirds of lawmakers in the 400-seat National Assembly and six of the nine provinces in the National Council of Provinces will need to approve the change, constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos said by phone.
The constitutional changes are separate from the South African Department of Public Works’ draft Expropriation Bill, which it released for public comment on Dec. 21, giving the public 60 days from then to make submissions.
The draft is the third version of the bill, with the first iteration released in 2008.
The government has “no ambition” to pass the bill before the election, but wants to have it fully processed and signed into law by the end of the year, South African Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin said in an interview.
Lawmakers have received “a large number of public submissions” and are to submit the changes to the draft at the last Cabinet meeting before the election, he said.
The bill proposes that land can be taken without pay if it is occupied or used by a labor tenant, held for purely speculative purposes, belongs to a state-owned company, or if its owner has abandoned it.
It also states that an expropriating authority may have a right to use property temporarily if it is urgently required for a period not exceeding 12 months.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was