National Assembly establishes committee to amend Section 25 of the Constitution

25 July 2019

The National Assembly plenary sitting today agreed to establish a multiparty ad hoc committee to initiate and introduce legislation amending section 25 of the Constitution.

The committee would report to the National Assembly on 31 March 2020 and would be composed of 11 voting members and 14 non-voting members.

Voting members would be drawn from the African National Congress (6), the Democratic Alliance (2), the Economic Freedom Fighters (1) and other parties (2).  The 14 non-voting members of the National Assembly, would be African National Congress (2), Democratic Alliance (1), Economic Freedom Fighters (1) and other parties (10). The ad hoc committee would have the general powers of parliamentary committees, as contained in Rule 167 of the National Assembly Rules.

The fifth democratic Parliament agreed to establish such a committee. However, the committee could not complete its task by the time the fifth democratic Parliament was dissolved and it was recommended that the sixth Parliament should conclude the matter.

The decision to establish such an ad hoc committee followed Parliament’s adoption of the report of the Constitutional Review Committee on review of section 25 of the Constitution in December 2018

The report recommended that Parliament amends section 25 of the Constitution to make explicit that which is implicit in the Constitution, regarding expropriation of land without compensation, as a legitimate option for land reform, to address the historic wrongs caused by arbitrary dispossession of land, and in so doing ensure equitable access to land and further empower the majority of South Africans to be productive participants in ownership, food security and agricultural reform programs. 

Issued by Moloto Mothapo, Parliamentary Spokesperson, 25 July 2019