Gauteng residents actively participated in public hearings on the Expropriation Bill. The result of this exercise was a pronouncement by Mpho Modise MPL, the Chairperson of the Infrastructure Development Committee, that residents had rejected the bill in its original form. The view of the chairperson can be heard here.
As a result, the Infrastructure Development Portfolio Committee proposed and accepted several amendments that dealt with remedying the concerns of the public relating to the bill. It is most unfortunate that the Standing Committee in Parliament rejected these amendments, suggesting a missed opportunity to integrate valuable public input into the legislative process.
As a principle, once the amendments supported by Gauteng’s Infrastructure Committee were rejected, the Committee should have rejected the original bill. But as we have come to expect, principles are not always top of mind.
Respect for the will of the people is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. The public hearings in Gauteng delivered a clear message. The ruling party’s continued support for the unamended bill, despite resident objections, creates a sense that the views of the people do not matter if they stand in the way of the cynical political objectives. It seems as if the public hearings were simply a box-ticking exercise, the outcome of which would be ignored if the outcome did not suit the narrative.
The Expropriation Bill is an attack on private property rights, which are the backbone of a market economy. If this bill is passed unchanged, all South Africans, black and white, will find themselves vulnerable to expropriation for nil or inadequate compensation, by hundreds of cash-strapped municipalities and other organs of state. This will deter investment, restrict growth, and worsen the unemployment crisis.
The Democratic Alliance will never support interventions based on outdated ideology that do irreparable harm to the economy as part of an election strategy.