The Expropriation Bill of 2020 (the Bill) was adopted by the legislature on 27 March 2024 and needs only President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assent to become law. Yet Parliament failed to ‘facilitate public involvement’ in the lengthy legislative process on the Bill. It also omitted to bring the content of the Bill into line with the Constitution. This means – as the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has pointed out in a letter and accompanying petition to the president – that Ramaphosa has a constitutional obligation not to sign the Bill. Instead, he must refer it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration.
A NEW CONCEPT OF 'EXPROPRIATION' INTRODUCED INTO THE BILL
Many clauses in the Bill remain unconstitutional and need to be redrafted along the lines the IRR has long proposed. Some, however, are new. One key change – added without public consultation – is particularly important because it allows expropriations of land, water rights and other assets directly to
