In 2022, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) pushing forward with plans to expropriate land without compensation, land and property will once again dominate conversation in South Africa.
Despite failing to win the majority required to change the Constitution in late 2021, the party changed national law to implement the idea of land expropriation with a simple majority.
In its manifesto, the ANC declares that fundamental changes are needed to address historically racially distorted land tenure structures. According to some legal experts, the Constitution already allows for land seizure, but the party argues that these issues should be clarified.
At his Saturday (8 January) address, Cyril Ramaphosa said that the land reform process would promote economic development for the benefit of all: “The ANC will implement a resolution on land expropriation without compensation, despite the refusals of other parties in Congress.”
In a similar statement by the Justice Minister Ronald Ramora in December, the ANC said it would abandon its plans to amend the Constitution in favour of using ordinary law to facilitate the process.
He said: “The constitutional change was the only means we could use. That’s the end of the problem. We now use our simple majority to allow expropriation without compensation. I will pass it.”
Land courts
It is also expected that Parliament will discuss the Land Court Bill, which will enable the creation of a specialist Land Court as well as a Land Court of Appeal.
Specifically, it seeks to accelerate land reform in the country as well as resolve pending disputes and backlogs in the land claim system.
“The bill seeks to address the systemic hurdles that make it difficult for land claimants to obtain land restitution,” said Ronald Lamola, Justice and Correctional Services minister.
“For instance, the bill allows for hearsay evidence for most families, who have to rely on oral history and the existence of elders with knowledge of description, location, and extent of land which their descendants previously occupied.”
Furthermore, Lamola said that bill includes expert testimony regarding anthropological and historical facts related to specific land claims.
“This bill gives effect to the mandate of the sixth administration, namely, to ensure our approach to land reform is based on three elements – increased security of tenure, land restitution and land redistribution.
“This bill is a concrete intervention to improve the functioning of all three elements of land reform.
“It creates a policy framework to ensure that land reform is guided by sound legal and economic principles and contributes to the country’s investment objectives and job creation initiatives,” according to Lamola.
Additional protections and transformation
Housing Consumer Protection Bill will also be deliberated in Parliament in 2022 after it was introduced by the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation in May 2021.
A provision of the bill will ensure that housing consumers are adequately protected, and the home building industry is effectively regulated by:
- Enhancing regulatory mechanisms;
- improving housing consumer protection;
- Enacting appropriate enforcement tools and imposing penalties and sanctions to deter home builders from non-compliance.
The bill seeks to facilitate the entry of new players into the home building industry by including contractual provisions to ensure sustainability.
Through the inclusion of provisions such as a warranty fund surplus which can be used to fund the development of human settlements, the ‘economic transformation’ of the industry is also addressed.
