Property rights battle not over yet

Thanks to large-scale pressure from the community and civil rights organizations, the ANC was unable to change Article 25 of the Constitution this afternoon.

Result: 145 MPs voted against the amendment and 204 were in favour. So there was not a two thirds majority support.

This success is due to the thousands of citizens who, among others, supported Free State Agriculture’s (FSA’s) petition against the constitutional amendment.

FSA participated fully in the public consultation process and opposed this proposed amendment to Article 25 by mobilizing our members and the public to provide input, through written submissions as well as submission to parliament.

FSA’s position remains that the current Article 25 of the Constitution provides adequate provision for land reform, as long as the state has the political will to carry implement. This is in the national interest and FSA will do its part to hold the state accountable in the performance of its duties.

The fight for the preservation and expansion of individual property rights however continues. The next challenge is to stop the Expropriation Bill in its current form as well. If the bill is submitted to parliament early next year, only a 50% majority vote will be required for the Bill to be enacted.

To show your support for FSA go to: https://vrystaatlandbou.co.za/stop-expropriation/