Civil rights organisation AfriForum says it will take Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson to court if he agrees to be a co-signatory of the Expropriation Act.
Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers
Civil rights organisation AfriForum says it will take Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson to court if he agrees to be a co-signatory of the Expropriation Act.
On Thursday in a media briefing, AfriForum announced its three-point plan for fighting what it termed as the controversial act.
The plan will include an anti-promulgation action, legal action, and an international awareness campaign against the Expropriation Act.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa officially signed the Expropriation Bill into law last week. The act provides for zero compensation in certain cases.
This sparked outrage among citizens with parties like the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) threatening to take legal action against the Act.
This also shook up things in the government of national unity (GNU) between the ANC and the DA.
The DA declared a formal dispute over ANC’s unilateral decisions on the Act.
AfriForum maintained that this act would significantly jeopardise private property rights and must be opposed to the end.
The first step of the plan will focus on preventing the act’s promulgation. The second step of AfriForum’s three-point plan will be to test the constitutionality of the Expropriation Act in court.
The third aspect of AfriForum’s plan involves a targeted international campaign, through which the organisation will approach international role players and inform them about the risks and AfriForum’s criticism of the law.
According to AfriForum, they have already appealed to Macpherson to refuse to be a co-signatory of the act’s proclamation.
"However, if Macpherson countersigns the act, AfriForum is prepared to take him and President Cyril Ramaphosa to court due to the irrationality of their actions," the group said.
The civil group stated that under Section 101(2) of the Constitution, a minister must countersign if the act affects a function assigned to the relevant minister.
But Macpherson has already mentioned that he will never agree to the Act.
"As the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, there will be NO expropriation of private property without compensation on my watch.
"The guarantee of property rights under Section 25 of the Constitution is not up for debate and is non-negotiable," he declared on X.
AfriForum already sent a letter to Ramaphosa on April 15 last year to set out the grounds.
The main objection that AfriForum has against the constitutionality of the act is the fact that the Constitution requires just and equitable compensation.
Head of Public Relations at AfriForum Ernst van Zyl asserted that the group and other organisations serve as the final line of defence between the government and private property owners.
“Wherever the undermining of private property rights has occurred, such as in Zimbabwe and Venezuela, it has had catastrophic economic consequences.
"We must therefore use every option available to us in our resistance against this destructive law,” Van Zyl said.
In the interest of protecting private property rights, AfriForum also undertook to take legal action on behalf of those whose property is targeted by the government for expropriation without compensation.
IOL Politics
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