President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday signed into law the Expropriation Bill, which repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975 and sets out how State institutions may expropriate land in the public interest.

In March, the National Council of Provinces passed the Bill and it was adopted by the National Assembly in 2022.

Spokesperson to the President Vincent Magwenya explained that the Bill, which had undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, aligns legislation on expropriation with the Constitution.

“The Bill assented to by President Ramaphosa outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis. Local, provincial and national authorities will use this legislation to expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons that seek, among others, to promote inclusivity and access to natural resources,” explained Magwenya.

He pointed out that Section 25 of the Constitution recognised expropriation as an essential mechanism for the State to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest, in exchange for just and equitable compensation.

“Up to now, expropriation of property has been governed in terms of the Expropriation Act of 1975, which predates the expropriation mechanism provided for in section 25(2) of the Constitution,” he said.

He highlighted that in terms of this law, an expropriating authority may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest.

Expropriation may not be exercised unless the expropriating authority has without success attempted to reach an agreement with the owner or holder of a right in property for the acquisition thereof on reasonable terms, he explained.

“An expropriating authority is therefore obliged to enter negotiations with the owner of a property required for such purposes. An expropriating authority must also attempt to reach an agreement on the acquisition of the property before resorting to expropriation - except in circumstances where the right to use property temporarily is taken on an urgent basis in terms of a provision in the legislation,” Magwenya noted.

He pointed out that the law provided for disputes to be referred for mediation or to appropriate courts.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters have been vocal about the Bill, with the DA saying the Bill threatens land ownership security.

The EFF has been pushing for land expropriation without compensation.