Land reform: Motlanthe warns of ‘anarchy and chaos’ if property rights aren’t protected
11 July 2019
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe has warned of a dire impact on society if property rights in South Africa aren't protected.
Speaking at a dialogue about a mooted agricultural development agency facilitated by former constitutional negotiator Roelf Meyer in Pretoria, Motlanthe said there is no need to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation in the public interest because the country's supreme law already provides for that.
"If property is not protected you destroy value, and if there's no value then you won't have an economy driving forward. People won't invest effort and resources in building assets. And if you think about it properly, if property is not protected by law, society as we understand it today, will disappear because the kind of anarchy and chaos that would ensue is difficult to imagine," Motlanthe said.
Section 25 protects property and recognises the need for the restoration of rights to those who have been dispossessed, Motlanthe added.