Minister Dean Macpherson firmly opposes the Expropriation Bill signed by President Ramaphosa, asserting that property rights are non-negotiable.
Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers
The signing of the Expropriation Bill into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday could present another banana peel for the Government of National Unity after Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson, as the custodian of the law, made his opinion clear that he would protect property rights and there would be no expropriation of private property under his watch.
The Bill was signed into law to address longstanding issues of land inequality and provide a framework for the expropriation of land without compensation.
There have already been tensions between the two major GNU political parties, the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance, over the implementation and signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill, along with the National Health Insurance Act (NHI) and this new Bill could provide further strife between the two parties who entered into a GNU after the May 2024 elections when no single political party captured a majority of the vote.
Macpherson, who is a DA member, took to X on Friday morning and said that in his capacity as minister of public works, he would not allow the expropriation of private property.
“As the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, there will be NO expropriation of private property without compensation on my watch,” he said.
“The guarantee of property rights under Section 25 of the Constitution is not up for debate and is non-negotiable,” Macpherson added.
He added in a follow-up tweet: "In terms of the law, only Ministers implement Acts and regulations. Anyone who claims to speak for the department is just giving an opinion".
This appeared to be a slight at Public Works deputy minister Sihle Zikalala, who told Newzroom Afrika, that the minister would have to defend the matter should it be taken to court.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the Bill had undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, and aligns legislation on expropriation with the Constitution.
"Section 25 of the Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation being paid.
“Up to now, expropriation of property has been governed by the Expropriation Act of 1975, which predates the expropriation mechanism provided for in section 25(2) of the Constitution," said Magwenya.
The DA said that it would go to court to stop the Bill and said while the Constitution allowed for acts of redress and restitution, including land reform, they had serious reservations about the procedure as well as important substantive aspects of the Bill.
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