Land expropriation without compensation could soon become a reality

The Ad Hoc Committee to introduce legislation amending Section 25 of the Constitution to allow expropriation of land without compensation is one step closer to finalising its work.

The committee has received  inputs from the Public Works Minister Patricia De Lille, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. These were the last inputs on the matter  after the committee conducted public hearings throughout the country.

Minister De Lille says government has conducted two land audits since 2013-14. The first audit was to determine the amount of land owned by the state or privately.

The Minister says the outcomes of that audit was that 79% of the land in South Africa is in private ownership, 14% by the state and 7% unaccounted for. She says the second audit, which looked at what was privately owned, indicated that more than 70% is owned by White people.

“The second audit found that individuals, companies and trusts have a combined ownership of 90% of the total land that was audited and the audit also revealed that Whites owned 72% followed by Coloureds 15%, Indians 5% and Blacks 4%. Then there was an unidentifiable by race of and co- owners about 1%,” she explains.

Parliament holds public hearings to amend Section 25 of the Constitution: