Opposition parties and civil society organisations have rejected President Cyril Ramaphosa's signing into law of the Expropriation Bill, while the African National Congress (ANC) has supported the move, calling it a significant milestone in the country’s transformation agenda.

Ramaphosa on Thursday signed into law the Bill, which repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975 and sets out how State institutions may expropriate land in the public interest.

In March, the National Council of Provinces passed the Bill, while it was adopted by the National Assembly in 2022.

Spokesperson to the President Vincent Magwenya explained that the Bill, which had undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, aligned legislation on expropriation with the Constitution.

“The Bill assented to by President Ramaphosa outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis. Local, provincial and national authorities will use this legislation to expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons that seek, among others, to promote inclusivity and access to natural resources,” he explained.

LEGAL ACTION

The Democratic Alliance (DA) strongly reiterated its opposition to the Expropriation Bill, pointing out that it was in discussions with its legal team to formulate a case.

“While the DA recognises that the Constitution allows for acts of redress and restitution, including land reform, we have serious reservations about the procedure as well as important substantive aspects of the Bill,” the party said.

ActionSA parliamentary chief whip Lerato Ngobeni said her party was also considering legal action in response to Ramaphosa's enactment of the Expropriation Bill.

“We believe this is yet another example of the ANC’s relentless push for destructive policies, enabled by the ongoing capitulation of its Government of National Unity (GNU) partners on critical matters that threaten the future of South Africa.

“This latest chapter in the chronicles of a co-opted opposition, silenced by Cabinet perks, exposes a multi-party coalition of convenience where former opposition parties have abandoned their principles to become enablers of the very same failed ANC policies that voters decisively rejected in May 2024,” said Ngobeni.

ActionSA noted that while the Bill repealed the outdated Expropriation Act of 1975 and established a framework aligned with the country’s Constitution for property expropriation by State organs, its effectiveness hinged on genuine political will.

“…without such commitment, this legislative move risks being a mere formality, allowing the ANC to operate as though it governs unilaterally, especially given the blind compliance of its GNU partners,” the party explained.

ActionSA said it believed that land reform was crucial for addressing historical injustices and must be expedited responsibly, safeguarding property rights and maintaining investor confidence.

“Consequently, we oppose any constitutional amendments permitting expropriation without compensation and uphold the protection of private property rights as a fundamental economic tenet,” said Ngobeni.

Civil rights organisation AfriForum said it was ready to take legal action to protect property owners if targeted with expropriation without compensation.

“…this comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law, which makes expropriation of private property without compensation possible. With the signing of this Bill into law, the Government of National Unity has sanctioned a substantial threat to the right to private property in this country. Just as with the threat to Afrikaans education by the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, any law which seeks to dismantle private property is a red line for AfriForum. The organisation intends to treat it as such,” said AfriForum head of Public Relations Ernst van Zyl.

DISGUISED SOLUTION

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) said it “categorically” rejected the law and its attempts to “sanitise the theft of African’s land”, announcing that it would be submitting a private member's Bill that sought to amend Section 25 of the Constitution.

“This legislation, disguised as a solution to South Africa's land question, is nothing but a continuation of injustice and a betrayal of our people's struggles for true land restitution,” said MKP national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.

He  stated that by excluding the pre-1913 dispossessions, the Bill ensured that the stolen land of African’s ancestors remained in the hands of colonial beneficiaries.

“…worse, this law puts money into the pockets of land thieves by requiring compensation for land that was violently stolen. Instead of redressing historical injustices, it protects the interests of those who continue to benefit from colonial and apartheid-era plunder,” he explained. 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) described the Act as a legislative cop-out by the ANC, used to "fool citizens into believing that the party is doing something to address the almost tyrannical neglect” of the land question in the country.

“It [Bill] will not assist in resolving the tragedy of land restitution in this country, which has hollowed out State coffers for compensation to white settlers who illegitimately own our land,” the EFF said.

The party highlighted that the only democratic mechanism through which the land question could be resolved was in amending the entirety of Section 25 of the Constitution.

This must include provisions for State custodianship of the land, a mere Act of Parliament cannot override the Constitution, the EFF added.

The EFF said they will soon table a new set of legislative proposals in Parliament to resolve the land crisis in this country.

Meanwhile, RISE Mzansi contended that when expropriation was correctly applied, particularly in the instance of public housing and rural development, the issues of spatial justice and spatial planning must be considered.

“Access to basic rights such as the right to clean water, good quality education, adequate housing and land are all linked to spatial planning and intentionally constructed and maintained community infrastructure,” said RISE Mzansi National Assembly caucus whip Makashule Gana.

He cautioned political parties and other organisations from misrepresenting the law by painting it as a licence for State-sanctioned and illegal land grabs, and the dissolution of property rights.

“The Constitution, as the highest law in the land, is clear about protecting property rights, and advancing the expropriation of land “in terms of law of general application,” he said.

JUST AND EQUITABLE

Meanwhile, the ANC said the signing of the Bill marked a “significant milestone” in South Africa’s transformation agenda.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri explained that the Bill provided a framework to facilitate land reform in the public interest, creating opportunities for economic inclusion and development while ensuring that the rights of property owners were respected.

“It guarantees that expropriation is conducted fairly, justly, and with due process, ensuring alignment with Section 25 of the Constitution, which permits expropriation for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation,” she said.

The ANC viewed the law as a progressive and transformative tool to advance land reform in ways that enabled inclusive economic growth and social cohesion.

“…by unlocking access to land, the legislation will promote the development of sustainable human settlements, enhance agricultural productivity for emerging farmers, and enable urban land development to address spatial inequality,” noted Bhengu-Motsiri.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said the Bill was a much-needed improvement on the 1975 Act.

He claimed that land dispossession had been “inadequately” addressed by land reform policies since the demise of apartheid.

He pointed out that South Africa needed the tools and political will to set this straight.

Herron explained that expropriating land in appropriate circumstances was one of the tools at government's disposal to accelerate land reform.

“This new law articulates the circumstances under which nil compensation would be just and equitable. It is not the loaded gun to chase landowners into the sea that opponents to the Bill projected it to be.

“The campaign launched against the Bill during the public consultation process, warning that citizens stood to lose everything they own including their cars, was dishonest and inflammatory,” he said.

Meanwhile, Public Works and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala welcomed and described as “seminal and ground-breaking” the signing into law of the Expropriation Bill by Ramaphosa.

“This is the legislation that will take South Africa in reality on the path of economic transformation and inclusive economic growth. This is a culmination of the long history of struggle waged by the forbearers against the dispossession of most Black people through the 1913 Land Act and the notorious Group Areas Act. We will use the newly promulgated legislation to enhance the delivery of infrastructure development programmes, industrialisation and agricultural reform that improves food security," said Zikalala. 

He said the unequal distribution of land and the tendency by some "greedy individuals" to use land to impede the country’s development prospects would be a thing of the past. 

The legislation placed the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as the executing authority of expropriation, with Zikalala explaining that all applications for those seeking expropriation for a public purpose and in the public interest must go through the department.