Expropriation Act is premised on the need for transformation |Mbalula.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

The formation of the government of national unity (GNU) casts a dark shadow over the ANC leadership as discontent from members and alliance partners continue to swirl.

The division deepened last weekend when the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) decided to reconfigure Gauteng and KZN provincial executive committees (PECs) for their poor performance in the May 29 general elections.

During the briefing, Mbalula said “[The ANC] believes some don’t understand us”, therefore, the party would hold discussions with its GNU partners “so that they understand where we come from, as the ANC”.

“It’s not just matters of process, that somebody did not understand the process. It’s about [how fundamental transformation is to us]. But over and above that, that transformation is not swart gevaar,” said Mbalula.

Transformation is not a danger to anybody, he said. “It’s about this principle of inclusivity.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill — which allows for expropriation with no compensation — into law last week, immediately invoking unhappiness in some opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC’s biggest alliance partner in the government of national unity (GNU).  

The Act is viewed by some opposition parties and legal experts as being contrary to section 25 of the Constitution, which states that property can only be expropriated “subjected to compensation”.

The new Act sets out when no compensation can be considered “fair”, how expropriation should happen and which types of land can be targeted.

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has previously said the law could not be used “arbitrarily”, and expropriation had to be done for public use or in the public interest.

At its own media briefing earlier on Tuesday, the DA accused president Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC of side-lining GNU partners when signing Bills into law, saying this violated the founding principles of the GNU.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said at that briefing that the GNU agreement required all decisions, including those on previously passed legislation, to involve consultation with coalition parties.

But fielding questions after the ANC briefing, national executive committee member Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule said Ramaphosa could not have postponed signing the Act because “somebody feels they are not happy with it”, as it was passed by parliament.

Potgieter said there was “a lot of disinformation going around” about the Expropriation Act, as was the case with the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.

The media, government and political parties should “together, educate people about what the Expropriation Act is about”, she said.

“It’s mainly aimed at looking at how we accelerate land reform — land tenure, land claims and land redistribution.” 

Outside of the coalition government, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), known for its radical views on nationalisation and land distribution, has called the move a “legislative cop-out” by the governing party.

The party also says the law will not help resolve the contentious issue of land restitution in South Africa.

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