ANC STATEMENT ON THE ENACTMENT OF THE RESTITUTION OF LAND RIGHTS AND PROPERTY VALUATION BILLS

Today the President of the Republic of South Africa, Comrade Jacob Zuma, signed into law the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill and the Property Valuation Bill thus taking a bold and decisive step in the quest to accelerate the pace of land reform in South Africa.

The African National Congress welcomes the enactment of this bills as they are giving expression to the urgency for comprehensive land reform expressed by the people of South Africa. They are further a direct response to the determination that the willing buyer willing seller principle has not yielded the desired outcomes at the rate envisaged, hence the need for the establishment of the Office of the Valuer-General.

The Property Valuation Act, which establishes the Office of the Valuer-General, seeks amongst others to facilitate and accelerate land reform through the regulation of the valuation of land; a problem that has severely hindered the process of land restitution and land reform to date.

Both the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act and Property Valuation Act are a victory for the millions of South Africans dispossessed of their land as the result of past discrimination. The African National Congress has no doubt that we are one step closer to redressing the imbalances of the past and fostering conditions which enable our people to gain access to land on an equitable basis as contemplated by the Freedom Charter and our Constitution

Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC national spokesperson, June 30 2014

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