Ramaphosa’s latest move shakes the GNU

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to assent to the controversial Expropriation Bill is sowing divisions with the Government of National Unity (GNU), with partner parties within the coalition lining up legal challenges to push back against it.
Ramaphsoa signed the Bill into law on Thursday (23 January) sparking outrage among members in the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plut (FF+), two key members of the GNU.
DA leader John Steenhuisen has a called a briefing on Saturday (25 January) to specifically address what this means for the party inside the GNU.
Following the signing, the DA made it clear that it is wholly opposed to the laws, and views them as a direct attack on the constitutional rights of South Africa.
“We have obtained a legal opinion that the Expropriation Bill is unconstitutional. We will fight this dangerous legislation by every possible means, including in the courts,” the party said.
“We will not stand by as the government seeks to undermine our rights and erode the rule of law.”
The FF+, meanwhile, said that the president’s statement alongside the signing was misleading.
“(Ramaphosa created) the impression that the Expropriation Bill is fair. In essence, the law allows the government to expropriate property, in certain cases, at ‘null compensation’, which comes down to expropriation without compensation,” the party said.
“The FF Plus will challenge the constitutionality of the law in the Constitutional Court. Should it be found unconstitutional, the FF Plus will do everything in its power as member of the GNU and Cabinet to have an amendment bill issued to address the law’s unconstitutionality.”
Professor Johann Kirsten, director of the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) and Professor in agricultural economics, noted on Friday that the new Expropriation Bill itself does not significantly alter land expropriation as it already stands in South Africa.
While it does introduce instances where ‘nil compensation’ can occur, this does not supersede what is contained in Section 25 of the Constitution (which does not provide for nil compensation).
However, this does introduce a degree of uncertainty to land ownership laws: if the state tries to expropriate land with nil compensation, the matter will invariably end up before the Constitutional Court.
As Kirsten put it: “the definition of expropriation will still need to be applied and interpreted by the courts”.
Opponents of the laws fight this application and interpretation, arguing that they oppose the Constitution as it stands.
The murkiness of the laws and the uncertainty it creates have also been criticised for being a deterrent to business and investment in South Africa—especially at a time that the country desperately needs buy-in.
Ramaphosa’s signing of the Bill just after South Africa’s presence at the World Economic Forum encouraged investment.
Strike three
For the parties within the GNU, this marks the third major faultline that has been crossed, with the president assenting to major laws that many within the coalition do not support.
In each case, these are issues that certain parties campaigned on and described as ‘red line’ ahead of the elections.
The National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme was signed into law ahead of the 2024 elections before the GNU existed, while the ANC still held a majority.
In the age of the GNU, ANC officials in government are pushing ahead with the scheme—without compromise—despite the pushback from other partner parties and no longer having a majority.
The laws face mounting legal challenges and pushback from the private sector, including healthcare workers, unions and legal experts.
The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act is another example.
This was also pushed through following the elections, and promulgated fully—again, without any changes or compromise—by Ramaphosa in December 2024.
With each signing, key parties within the GNU are vocal in their opposition, but not much comes of it in practical or political terms.
The DA said Steenhuisen would address the party’s position on the NHI at the address on Saturday.