Praat saam: Hoe voel jy oor die wet wat geteken is?
President Cyril Ramaphosa het vandag, 23 Januarie 2025, die omstrede onteieningswet wat in ooreenstemming met die Grondwet is, geteken. Vincent Magwenya, woordvoerder vir die president, sê artikel 25 van die Grondwet erken onteiening as ‘n noodsaaklike meganisme vir die staat om iemand se eiendom, onderhewig aan regverdige en billike vergoeding, vir ‘n openbare doel of in die openbare belang te bekom. Die nuutgetekende wetsontwerp beskryf hoe en op watter grondslag onteiening deur alle staatsinstansies, hetsy plaaslik, provinsiaal of nasionaal, vir redes van openbare belang onteien kan word. Onder meer om almal toegang tot natuurlike hulpbronne te gee.
Onteinening mag volgens Magwenya in tydelike dringende gevalle toegepas word. Andersins ook, indien die onteieningsowerheid wat tot regverdige onderhandelinge toetree, nie suksesvol met die eienaar of houer van ‘n eiendom kon onderhandel nie.
Indien onderhandelinge dus nie vlot verloop nie, kan ‘n eienaar of houer van eiendom vir mediasie of na relevante howe verwys word.
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23 Jan 2025
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Expropriation Bill which repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975 and sets out how organs of State may expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons.
The Bill, which has undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, aligns legislation on expropriation with the Constitution.
Section 25 of the Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation being paid.
Up to now, expropriation of property has been governed in terms of the Expropriation Act of 1975, which predates the expropriation mechanism provided for in section 25(2) of the Constitution.
The Bill assented to by President Ramaphosa outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis. This law will assist all organs of State – local, provincial and national authorities – to expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons.
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.
The Bill repeals the Expropriation Act and provide a common framework in line with the Constitution to guide the processes and procedures for expropriation of property by organs of state.
In terms of this law, an expropriating authority may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest.
Expropriation may not be exercised unless the expropriating authority has without success attempted to reach an agreement with the owner or holder of a right in property for the acquisition thereof on reasonable terms.
An expropriating authority is therefore obliged to enter into negotiations with the owner of a property required for such purposes.
An expropriating authority must also attempt to reach an agreement on the acquisition of the property before resorting to expropriation – except in circumstances where the right to use property temporarily is taken on an urgent basis in terms of a provision in the legislation
The law provides for disputes to be referred for mediation or to appropriate courts.
