Jacob Zuma acknowledges objections in land Expropriation Bill
President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday acknowledged receipt of formal objections to the proclamation of the Expropriation Bill after the Democratic Alliance petitioned him to send it back to Parliament.
“The presidency has received the Expropriation Bill of 2015 from the National Assembly for assent and signing into law. The presidency has also received objections to the bill,” his office said.
“All matters are still being processed.”
On Tuesday, the DA said the party had been advised by its lawyers that the bill violated sections 25 and 26 of the Constitution which respectively deal with the right to property and the right not to be evicted without a court order.
It said Zuma should therefore send it back to Parliament to be brought in line with the Constitution.
The bill, which has been in the pipeline since 2008, seeks to address racial inequities in land ownership. It will enable the state to acquire land in the “public interest” at prices sent by a government adjudicator and will see the end of the willing seller, willing buyer model of land reform.