South Africans have a little more than a month to convince Members of Parliament serving on the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure to halt the Expropriation Bill that stands to make all the country’s problems worse, and threatens to destroy any hope of recovery, warns the Institute of Race Relations (IRR).
The Bill, which clears the way for Expropriation without Compensation (EWC), is set to be considered for adoption by the portfolio committee on 14 September.
The IRR says in statement that, given this tight timeframe, it this week launched a fresh public interest campaign ‘to rally opposition to the Bill, warn of the consequences of EWC, and highlight better alternatives for successful land reform’.
‘Most South Africans do not favour EWC. In 2020 the IRR commissioned an independent polling company to ask a large, randomly sampled, demographically representative group of South Africans a range of questions, including: “Do you prefer a political party which promises faster economic growth and more jobs; or one which promises land expropriation without compensation as redress for past wrongs?”
‘15% of white respondents said they would prefer EWC to more growth and jobs. But over 80% of respondents of all races said they would prefer more growth and jobs to EWC.’
The IRR notes that it formally opposed the Expropriation Bill in written submissions to Parliament in February 2021, using detailed historical examples to demonstrate that a country either has EWC or growth, but never both. Since then the Expropriation Bill has been moving through a committee process, which is set to conclude on 14 September. If passed, it will be tabled in Parliament, and voted on there in due course.
‘EWC was last voted on at the end of 2021, when MPs were asked to consider the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill. On that occasion 204 votes were cast in favour of EWC, which was not enough. This time EWC only needs 201 votes.’
Said Mlondi Mdluli, IRR Campaigns Manager: ‘We urge Members of Parliament to vote against the Expropriation Bill. What South Africans need are policies that will improve their standard of living and lead the country to prosperity. The Expropriation Bill will do the complete opposite.’
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*This report has been edited to provide the correct details of the parliamentary process which the Expropriation Bill is expected to follow.