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Expropriation

  • The video features a jurist and researcher, Martin Van Staden, of the Free Market Foundation (FMF) in which he discusses the proposal to amend section 25 of the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation is a great cause for concern.
  • Van Staden argues that according to a study conducted by Free Market Foundation, the proposal is already doing damage to the economy.
  • The FMF has been warning South Africa not to follow the road of expropriation without compensation (EWC) policy that was adopted by the South African Parliament, as this will have a severe and serious negative impact on the local economy.
  • There will never be a transfer of property in South Africa following EWC, in fact there will be state central ownership of land as in the case of Zimbabwe where property rights were violated to the detriment of the economy.
  • The restitution of land must happen, Martin argues, and this has been happening since the fall of apartheid. This should and must happen by not violating the right to property as enshrined and protected in section 25 of the Constitution of 1996.
  • State should be careful not to violate a universally protected right to private property and a right to not deprive private persons of their property including a right to have their property deprived and taken from them without payment of compensation.
  • The real government agenda in seeking to follow EWC road is not because the government cares much about redistribution of land, it is mainly and frankly to seek to take and do away with private ownership and introduce a state communist agenda of “you will own nothing, and you will be happy” as advocated by the World Economic Forum.
  • In other countries, e.g. Zimbabwe, the EWC was attempted and such countries are in a terrible state of economic decay where millions of people are displaced and suffering.
  • There is no real and practical way for the government to control the EWC.
  • The better way to protect property rights if for government to disregard the EWC and rather follow the rule of law particularly section 25 of the Constitution and not to undermine the importance of property rights.


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    The views expressed in the article are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the members of the Foundation.

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