Letter of demand sent to Ramaphosa over Expropriation Bill

Dear Editor

The passing of the Expropriation Bill yesterday marked yet another reckless attack on the Constitution by the ANC as it desperately seeks to shore up its declining electoral support for the upcoming national and provincial elections scheduled for 29 May 2024.

For the DA, yesterday’s proceedings were a non-event and the fight against this ruinous piece of legislation has only begun. We maintain our position that the Expropriation Bill is unconstitutional, poses a direct threat to the Bill of Rights and will not pass constitutional muster in a court of law.

As the Expropriation Bill makes its way to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s desk for his signature, the DA has instructed our lawyers to begin working on a letter of demand to the President asking him to refer the Bill back to the National Assembly for consideration on its constitutionality. Ramaphosa’s ANC comrades in Parliament are asking him to authorise an illegality in contravention of his oath of office in which he swore to ‘…obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution… [by] protect(ing) and promot(ing) the rights of all South Africans’.

It confounds reason that the ANC thinks, erroneously so, that they can introduce expropriation without compensation through the legislative backdoor despite a clear red line warning them that they will be violating section 25 of the Constitution, which provides that property can only be expropriated “subject to compensation”.

Despite strong objections raised by the DA, the ANC snuck a provision into the bill to allow for expropriation with “nil compensation”. This transparent attempt by the ANC to overcompensate for its failure to pass the Section 25 Amendment Bill, by retrofitting the Expropriation Bill with a nil compensation clause, is a direct abuse of the legislative process and a window into the ANC’s descent into lawlessness.

The DA is taking legal steps to put Ramaphosa on notice and his only recourse is to send the constitutionally flawed Expropriation Bill back to Parliament for sober consideration.

Regards

Dr Annelie Lotriet MP
DA Deputy Chief Whip