§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the land expropriation laws which are set to come into effect in South Africa in April. [159039]
§ Hilary BennThe South African Constitution authorises expropriation of property under certain conditions for a public purpose or in the public interest. The Constitution specifically states that the public interest includes the nation's commitment to land reform.
South Africa's approach to land reform has three main planks: the restitution of land rights to those unfairly dispossessed between 1913 and 1994; a programme of redistribution to transform the racial pattern of agricultural land ownership; and land tenure reform, including particularly reform of communal land tenure arrangements in the former homeland areas.
The South African Government plan to introduce amendments to the Restitution of Land Rights Bill to allow the Minister for Lands to purchase, acquire or expropriate land for the purpose of a restitution award.
1234WUnder the restitution process most urban claims have been settled. South Africa is now addressing the more difficult and complex rural cases, involving overlapping and competing claims. The amendments are designed to assist in determining the outcome in the most intractable cases. Any land expropriated under this process will be for the benefit of those who have a legitimate claim on that land.
Expropriation of land will be undertaken within the rule of law and will attract compensation in accordance with the Constitution of South Africa. The Amendments to the Bill require that the constitutional rights of the existing landowner/holder must be complied with and that the amount of compensation paid and the time and manner of payment must be agreed to by all parties, or by the Courts; and must be just and equitable, balancing the public interest and the interest of those affected.