Posted on January 24, 2025

South Africa President Signs Land Expropriation Bill Into Law

Jarryd Jäger, Western Standard, January 23, 2025

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a controversial land expropriation bill into law.

The law, which replaces the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975, allows the government to seize land in the name of “public interest.”

The state has always had the ability to expropriate land, however the reasons for doing so have changed since 1994 with the advent of democracy in the nation.

Per Section 25 of the Constitution, public interest includes not just public services such as transit and hospitals, but “the nation’s commitment to land reform, and to reforms to bring about equitable access to all South Africa’s natural resources.”

In a press release, the president’s office explained that the law will not allow the government to expropriate property “arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest.”

The expropriation authority will be required to enter into negotiations with property owners, and provide “just and equitable compensation.”

{snip}

The African National Congress, which was the ruling party when the bill was first introduced during the last parliament, celebrated the as a “progressive and transformative tool to advance land reform in ways that enable inclusive economic growth and social cohesion.”

{snip}