Land Bills: President is showing disregard for Section 79 of the Constitution
1 July 2014
The DA is deeply concerned that President Zuma has signed the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill and the Property Valuation Bill into law despite having received a petition from the DA to refer this proposed legislation back to the National Assembly in terms of Section 79 of the Constitution.
He has done this without demonstrating that he took these constitutional concerns seriously, and has not communicated with Members of Parliament adequately regarding the petition.
I will be writing to both the President and the State Law Advisor in order to determine whether the President fully applied his mind to the content of the bills before signing them, and I will furthermore request proof of the legal opinion which President Zuma should have requested if he did indeed do so.
The passing of these two bills indicates the President's disregard for achieving redress through effective and certain policy proposals and for creating growth in the economy.
The DA supports an orderly land reform programme that compensates people for verified past dispossession. We believe that if it is well managed, it will boost the rural economy, promote justice, maintain food production.
We recognise that people who were deprived of the right to lodge a verifiable land claim before the 1998 deadline should not be penalised because of the State's inefficiency.
However, the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill sells an empty promise to many South Africans who were dispossessed of land by discriminatory laws during Apartheid.
In its current form, the Bill will overload a corrupt and incapacitated restitutions process even further, leading to longer delays for the dispossessed and stagnation in the rural economy, which is already beginning to undermine food security.
In Parliament, the DA proposed eight key amendments to remedy the Bill and ensure certainty in the restitution process. These key amendments were rejected by the ANC.
Of the 120 000 productive farmers in South Africa in 1994, there are now only 36 000 left today. According to the latest statistics, at least 73% of once-productive restituted farmland is now unproductive - neither relieving food security concerns nor creating jobs.
The Property Valuation Bill, directed at land reform, also misdiagnoses the problem behind land redistribution. The reason for the slow rate of land reform is not the "willing-buyer-willing-seller" principle, as the ANC falsely claims.
With 92% of all claimants preferring to take cash pay-outs, rather than return to the land, when measuring the rate of returned land, it is important to note that a vast majority of successful claimants up till now have chosen not to take up the land.
Unfortunately, claimants who do have land returned to them are provided with no support to keep the land productive once it has been transferred.
In its current form, the Bill adds to uncertainty, and threatens jobs for many South Africans.
By doing away with the principle of willing buyer/willing seller in the negotiation of land prices, the Bill discourages new investment in the agricultural sector and may lead to increases in production costs for farmers due to increased interest rates and lower loans being offered relative to the value of properties.
President Zuma's failure to act properly on these petitions shows that he and the ANC are not truly committed to ensuring real redress, nor to creating jobs and growing the economy.
The DA will continue to fight for land reform and land restitution that works in an open, fair and efficient manner which creates opportunities for all.
Statement issued by Thomas Walters MP, DA Shadow Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, July 1 2014
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