AfriForum mulling legal action on land expropriation without compensation

The civil rights group AfriForum says it is considering legal action over the issue of expropriation of land without compensation.

Ernst Roets‚ deputy CEO of AfriForum‚ said the organisation had notified Parliament in writing that it would consult its legal team regarding the option to declare the process entailing that Section 25 of the Constitution be amended to empower the state to expropriate property without compensation as illegal.

“This follows after attempts by the parliamentary committee – which was compiled with the objective to revise the Constitution – to consult with the public regarding the amendment of Section 25 already had to bid defiance to various procedural crises‚” Roets said.

He said it appeared that the process related to gaining the public’s input had been manipulated from the beginning to reach an outcome that would support the ruling party’s stance.

“AfriForum has identified 10 potential procedural irregularities that may have a substantial impact on the outcome of the process regarding the public hearings that have been organised for this objective and that already need to kick off in two weeks.”

These included many of the venues at which these public hearings would take place still not being known to the public as well as the times they would start‚ or the agenda that would be followed.

“It is clear that the venues that were chosen in which these public hearings will take place‚ are mostly located within wards in which the ruling party has more support.”

Roets said AfriForum had made a plea to the parliamentary committee to urgently tackle these issues.

“The organisation has also communicated that even though it reserves its rights in this regard‚ it will still participate in the public participation processes with the aim to lay out important facts regarding expropriation without compensation.”