Expropriation change unlikely until after polls

Investors seeking clarity on government’s policy on land expropriation will have to wait until after the 2019 elections.

While parliament’s joint constitutional review committee formally resolved on Thursday to recommend that the property section of the constitution be changed to expedite expropriation of land without compensation, the ANC confirmed that this is unlikely before the 2019 polls.

The committee ignored objections from opposition parties, business organisations and some academics, who have argued that the change would discourage investment without dealing with the real causes of the slow implementation of land distribution, almost a quarter of a century after SA’s first democratic elections.

The ANC’s confirmation that the change will only take place in 2019, despite an EFF call for the amendment to be passed during the current sitting, leaves the possibility that it might not happen at all if the parties fail to win enough votes to secure a two-thirds majority among them.

This means the proposed change could still be stymied if the ANC and the EFF, which has a 6% share of seats, do not win enough votes to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.

The debate has polarised the country and spooked investors, and an amendment may also face court challenges.

After the initial euphoria accompanying Cyril Ramaphosa’s ascent to the presidency in February, the mood turned sour and the rand slumped after he said in July that the ANC would seek to change the constitution.

This was despite his acknowledgement that the constitution already enabled the expropriation of land without monetary compensation.

The Banking Association SA, which has warned of financial stress in the event of a collapse in the value of property against which commercial banks have lent money, called for the policy to be finalised as soon as possible.

The association also repeated its call for property rights to be protected.

“An amendment that leaves all property or specific classes of property – homes, assets, intellectual property, productive agricultural property, among others – vulnerable to expropriation without compensation would be a real risk to banks and the country’s ability to attract both local and international investment, grow an inclusive economy and create jobs,” it said.

AgriSA, the biggest agricultural industry lobby group, said it was considering its legal strategy.

The Institute of Race Relations has also said it is prepared to take legal steps to prevent the “procedurally flawed” process.

Senior ANC MP Vincent Smith said on Thursday there would not be enough time between now and the end of term of the fifth parliament to conclude the processing of the amendment.

However, he said the ANC was confident of returning to parliament with an increased majority in 2019.

In the interim, the report and recommendations are likely to be debated and adopted by the National Assembly by the end of November, and then sent to the National Council of Provinces.

“There will be no voting on [the] actual constitutional amendment before elections; it will not be possible,” Smith said.

Committee acting chair Stan Maila said the committee had tried to accommodate all views in its report.

“It was clear during this process that there was total agreement that there was a need for urgent and accelerated land reform to address the injustices of the past, which were inflicted on the majority of South Africans.

“The hunger for land among the dispossessed was clear,” Maila said.

Co-chair Lewis Nzimande said skewed land ownership patterns could only be addressed by amending section 25 of the constitution, to be explicitly clear that expropriation of land without compensation by the state in the public interest should be one mechanism to accelerate the land reform programme.

“South Africans have spoken, loud and clear, and we listened to their cry,” Nzimande said.- BusinessLIVE