SA’s new Expropriation Bill has elicited extreme views. Either it delivers a fatal blow to property ownership and lays the basis for Zimbabwe-style land grabs; or it is going to change nothing at all, certainly not speed up the process of land reform, which has lagged behind government’s own targets.What all sides agree on is that SA requires a new expropriation process, one aligned with the constitution.The new bill, which has been in the works since 2008 and now awaits only President Jacob Zuma’s signature, will replace the Expropriation Act of 1975.The big change is that the new bill essentially ends the willing buyer, willing seller principle that has underpinned the state’s land reform programme thus far.According to Reuters, about 8mha of land has been transferred to black owners since apartheid, equal to 8%-10% of the land that was in white hands in 1994. This is only a third of the 30% targeted by the ANC.Welcoming the passing of the bill by parliament last month, the office...
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