The much awaited land expropriation bill is ready and will soon be tabled in South Africa’s National Assembly, the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has stated.
President Ramaphosa announced during this year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces in parliament that government was ready to table the Expropriation Bill that outlined the circumstances under which expropriation of land without compensation would be permissible.
During his SONA in Parliament, the Head of State said beneficiaries of land would undergo compulsory training before receiving the land.
“We are prioritising youth, women, people with disabilities and those who have been farming on communal land and are ready to expand their operations for training and allocation of land.”
The President also proclaimed that government would this year release about 700,000 hectares of state land for agricultural production after having released 44,000 hectares of state land for the settlement of land restitution claims.
In December 2019, the parliamentary committee established to introduce legislation amending the South African Constitution to make land expropriation without compensation agreed to have the bill gazetted.
The bill proposes that the amount of the compensation and the time and manner of any payment for expropriated land must be just and equitable.
The national legislation must also set out specific circumstances where a court may determine that the amount of compensation is nil.
In 2018, Ramaphosa appointed an advisory panel on land reform comprising 10 members based on their academic background, professional experience, social entrepreneurship or activism related to the agricultural economy and land policy.
