New Expropriation Bill violates property rights

The newly proposed Expropriation Bill targets all assets of all citizens. This was the message that Free State Agriculture (FSA) conveyed today, during a media conference on the proposed Expropriation Bill.

Free State Agriculture released a report during their media conference in which the organization pointed out the dangers of the proposed Expropriation Amendment Act. “Unfortunately, in South Africa we do not have the certainty that the government is committed to entrenching fundamental economic building blocks. The most recent example of this is the proposed Expropriation Bill.” says Francois Wilken, president of Free State Agriculture.

“In general discourse, it is incorrectly assumed that only agricultural land is the target of expropriation without compensation. However, this law is not just an attack on farmers and landowners, but an attack on every individual’s property rights.” Wilken said.

During the media conference, Dr Jack Armour, FSA operations manager and Annelize Crosby, Agri SA head of Land Affairs, highlighted the biggest problems with the Expropriation Bill. These include:

1. the stated purpose of the Expropriation Act, namely redistribution;

2. the reason for expropriation namely public interest (which is not broadly defined);

3. that the law allows expropriation without compensation (EWC);

4. that the law establishes broad general categories within which EWC can take place and,

5. that all assets can be targeted by this legislation.

“This law must be stopped and therefore public opposition in this process is extremely important for FSA,” says Wilken. “Citizens must realize that if one person’s property rights can be targeted by the state, everyone’s property rights are in jeopardy. Therefore, Free State Agriculture intends to mobilize support against this amendment law as wide as possible. Expropriation without compensation is a make or break thing not only for farmers, but also for the country and all her people.”

Media enquiries:
Francois Wilken
President: Free State Agriculture
083 390 1831

Dr Jack Armour
Operations manager: Free State Agriculture
071 672 0271