KNYSNA NEWS - The National Assembly held a public hearing about the Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC) Bill at the Khayalethu Hall in Knysna on Sunday.
The bill was supported by the ANC, EFF, Knysna Persons with Disabilities, KUC, the Land Claim Committee, Elrick van Aswegen (the mayor) in his personal capacity, SACP, Sanco, the Young Communist League and individuals. It was opposed by the DA and FF Plus.
ANC member of Johnson Tatase branch in Ward 4, Moyisi Magalela, said he supports the bill. "The bill allows for a just and equitable process to restore the dignity of our people in addressing access to property and land, and the expropriation of such without compensation, as is applicable.
While I support the bill, I believe the definitions of property and public purpose must be better clarified," he said. He explained that the bill's current definition of "property" means property as contemplated in Section 25 of the Constitution.
"Because Section 25 of the Constitution is still being amended and there might be an extension of two more months with these amendments - I submit the definition should be: 'property': means, for the purposes of this Act, immoveable property that is suitable and appropriate for purposes of public good and/or in public interest," he said.
Such an amendment will clarify that property expropriated in terms of this Act, with compensation or with nil compensation, does not include an individual's personal possessions such as cars, pension funds, bank accounts, etc, he said.
"The current definition of 'public purpose' in the bill is: 'public purpose' includes any purposes connected with the administration of the provisions of any law by an organ of state. I propose that this be amended to read as 'public purpose' means any purposes connected with advancing the equitable socio-economic development of the country," Magasela said.
DA councillor Levael Davis rejecting the bill at the Khayalethu hall in Knysna on Sunday.
In his opinion, amending the definition will:
• Close the gap for endless litigation and court cases on whether the expropriation was indeed connected to administration of law and how the administration serves a public purpose or is in public interest;
• Ensure there is no opportunity for property to be expropriated for corrupt or other nefarious purposes;
• Ensure that the main purpose of the bill is to expropriate land and other immoveable property in pursuance of the country's land reform and socio-economic development priorities.
• DA Councillor Levael Davis said the DA is committed to land reform. "We however have a serious problem with this bill."
He set out the DA's reasons for not supporting the bill as follows:
• There are too many procedural issues with the bill in its current form;
• Property, public purpose and public interest are not adequately defined in the bill and could create an opportunity for corruption by officials and politicians;
• Property relates to all property and is not limited to land. This creates confusion, suggesting that any property can be expropriated, not only land;
• The term "intangible property" should be removed from the bill. This term is mentioned once in the bill, is undefined and there is no clear indication of the processes to be followed to address this.
•There is no need for expropriation without compensation to be legislated. Previous submissions made it clear that this is unlawful, and we know that the current Section 25 of the Constitution does make provision for nil compensation.
• Section 12(3) which speaks to nil compensation refers to the five circum-stances listed. The term "but not limited to" opens the door to an unlimited list of circumstances where nil compensation could be offered.
• Section 12(3)(a) limits the right of people to speculate on property, which has potential negative impact on investment in our country.
• Section 12(3)(c) identifies "abandoned" land as being subjected to nil compensation. This is dangerous and could promote land grabs.
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