LETTER: New law will take land occupation back to Middle Ages
Planned amendment will put those who might benefit at the mercy of the state
The proposed amendment to the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act is a clear attempt to bamboozle the homeless out of their ability to own property. If passed, it will inevitably trigger a Constitutional Court challenge. In plain language, the amendment sets out to prevent the poor from gaining private freehold title to land, offering instead a government permit to occupy it.
Joined with the determination to allow expropriation without compensation of private land for social housing, it will put those who might benefit at the mercy of the state. They will never hold a title deed. Their homes will not be castles. They will be serfs’ cottages, no matter how much brick and mortar they invest in them...
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