The Constitution@Work Presents: Part 2 - Ideology Behind the Expropriation Bill

28 October 2022

In the latest episode of The Constitution@Work, Project Manager at the Institute of Race Relations Terence Corrigan joins FW de Klerk Foundation Chairperson Dave Steward and Manager of Constitutional Programmes Tyla Dallas for a discussion on the underlying ideology that led to the recent adoption of the much-contested Expropriation Bill. 

Our speakers propose that the intention behind the Bill is locked up in the ANC's ideology of National Democratic Revolution (NDR) - racial redistribution of property has been a central facet of this approach. The ANC divided the post-1994 period into two phases: the political transition (which ended in about 2012), and the economic transformation of South Africa - with the redistribution of land seen as an essential part of the economic transformation. 

However, there is - in reality - no need for the Bill - at least if one is truly interested in land reform. As the ANC's own high-level panel pointed out a few years ago, the problem isn't with section 25 of the Constitution (which contains a just and equitable mechanism for expropriation of property) but with the mismanagement of the government departments involved as a result of corruption. 

Terence holds that, if you want a land reform programme to succeed, you've got to understand the trade-offs involved. The blind focus on land - particularly within the context of 'us' and 'them' - is a textbook example of populism - the people against some sort of external, irreconcilable 'enemy'. This makes for a distressing form of zero-sum politics and does nothing to promote rational land reform. 

The truth of the matter is that all South Africans should be worried about the Bill - there are no successful economies without property rights, which form the basis not only of economic growth, but also of freedom. 

In the ANC's NDR, everything is distributed according to demography - if you belong to a population group that has 5% of the population, you get 5% of everything - land, property, jobs, etc - the goal is demographic ownership of the economy at large.  The Bill thus needs to be viewed within the same context as, for example, the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, which now gives the Minister of Labour the right to dictate the racial structure at every level of an organisation in the private sector. 

According to the ANC's ideology, EWC will be carried out in the public or national interest. But what does this really mean? Is it for the government of the day to determine national interest? Surely, the national interest must be rooted in the values enshrined in the Constitution? 

When analysing the history of economies around the world, there is no way that anyone can rationally say that the destruction of property rights is in the national interest. 

Unfortunately, the current process is driven by ideology, and ideology has been the curse of our society - and many societies throughout the world. We need to return to pragmatism - to move away from ideology and back to the interests of the vast majority of South Africans, who want economic growth, peaceful relations, and for South Africa to be a successful country. At the moment, we are heading in the opposite direction. 

Watch the full video to learn more and join the conversation.

By FW de Klerk Foundation, 28 October 2022