Reject the Expropriation Bill and protect your property !

Why you should support the Democratic Alliance in rejecting the
Expropriation Bill

Introduction

The Democratic Alliance fully supports a sustainable and equitable
land reform process. However, we firmly believe that the Expropriation
Bill currently before Parliament will have the opposite effect on this
process – it will undermine a legally sound land reform programme and
even more seriously will threaten the very foundation of South
Africa's economic wellbeing – the security of property rights.

The Bill in its current form constitutes a full-on assault on some of
the most fundamental aspects of the Constitution and should be of
concern to anyone who currently holds a right in property or intends
to do so in the future; whether they be urban or rural, black or
white.

The Bill is an attempt to deflect attention away from government's
inability to manage an effective and efficient land reform programme
using legally sound and sustainable measures. There is in fact no need
for this legislation; what is required is, firstly, for government to
commit the necessary resources to finance land reform and secondly,
for it to ensure that there is sufficient capacity within the state to
manage the process.

This Bill must be rejected by all who care about South Africa and its future.

Five reasons why the bill must be rejected:

Under the Bill

The Bill violates the word and spirit of the Constitution.
The Minister can expropriate any right in property in the "public
interest". This is a broadly defined concept and could translate into
properties being expropriated at the whim of the Minister.
After expropriating the property, the Minister need not pay the
affected landowner the full market value of the property.
The affected landowner cannot go to court and argue the fairness of
the amount of money paid to him or her after expropriation.
Without security of property rights our economy will decline,
investors will not come to our shores and in the long run, all South
Africans will suffer.

Support the DA:

The DA fully supports sustainable and equitable land reform and is
committed to ensuring that South Africa puts in place a just and
sustainable pattern of land ownership.
The DA will not rest until this fundamentally unjust piece of
legislation is rejected.
The DA will fight to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated by
government to the current land reform programme.
The DA will fight to protect the rights of both current and future
land owners.

What you can do to stop this bill:
· Write letters to the press to make the public aware of this
imminent threat to their property rights.
· Attend Public Hearings to be held in each province between
19 May and 13 June (see below).
· Make written submissions to Parliament.

PROGRAM OF PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR THE EXPROPRIATION BILL

Note: Some final times and venues are not yet available. Please
contact the Committee Secretary, Ms. Akhona Busakwe (021 403 3859/083
709 8495), to confirm these.

PROVINCEDATE
TIMEVENUE
Western Cape19 May UnconfirmedBeaufort West (Rusdene Community Hall)
22 MayUnconfirmedPlettenberg Bay (venue not confirmed)
23 MayUnconfirmedOudtshoorn (Banquet Municipal Hall)
Limpopo26 – 27 May Unconfirmed Markado & Waterberg (venue not confirmed)
Gauteng28 May Unconfirmed Randfontein (venue not confirmed)
Mpumalanga 29 - 30 MayUnconfirmed Hlanzeni (Edwaleni & Mbombela) &
Nkomazi (Donga Block A)
Free State2 – 3 JuneUnconfirmed Qwaqwa (Thabo Mofutsanyane
Municipality) & Bloemfontein (venue not confirmed)
Northern Cape4 – 5 June Unconfirmed Kimberley & Kuruman (venue not confirmed)
North West6 JuneUnconfirmed Buphirima or Ventersdorp (venue not confirmed)
Eastern Cape9 – 10 June Unconfirmed Queenstown & Wild Coast (venue not
confirmed)
KZN11 – 13 JuneUnconfirmed Umkhanyakude, Pongola & Newcastle (venue
not confirmed)
National17 - 18 June 10:00 – 16:00 Parliament

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Maans Nel MP Sydney Opperman MP
DA Spokesperson on DA Spokesperson on
Land Affairs Public Works