President Jacob Zuma’s controversial statement\u00a0that South Africa will change its laws to allow government to expropriate land without compensation was likely a typo – because he simply copied\u00a0his earlier speeches and confused current laws.<\/p>\n
This is according to LegalBrief’s<\/a><\/strong> Pam Saxby, who believes that the president used two pieces of law\u00a0interchangeably – the\u00a02015 Expropriation Bill which was recently sent back to Parliament, and the 1975\u00a0Expropriation Act – creating the confusion.<\/p>\n Last week (24 February), Zuma was quoted<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by Reuters as advocating for land redistribution without compensation in South Africa, causing a lot of confusion and concern among legal experts and citizens.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to take bold steps that will transform our economy, including land ownership, very fast,\u201d Zuma was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are busy amending (laws) to enable faster land reform, including land expropriation without compensation as provided for in the constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n While this ‘new legislation’ would confirm previous reports of proposed changes being pushed through by the ANC government, the President\u2019s remarks were also taken directly from the text of his speech \u2013 which, in turn, drew from Zuma\u2019s State of the Nation Address (Sona<\/a><\/strong>) and the ANC\u2019s 8 January anniversary\u00a0statement<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n “We had stated our intention of using the Expropriation Act, 1975 \u2026 to pursue land reform and land redistribution, in line with the Constitution. I have now decided to refer the Bill back to Parliament for reconsideration on the basis that it might not pass constitutional muster. This is due to inadequate public participation during its processing. We trust that Parliament will be able to move with speed in meeting the requirements so that the law can be finalised to effect transformation.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018The Constitution allows for the expropriation of land for a public purpose and in the public interest. This year, we shall begin to utilise the Expropriation of Land Act to pursue land reform and land redistribution, with greater speed and urgency, following the prescripts of our Constitution\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nState of the Nation\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
ANC anniversary celebration<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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