GOOD Statement by Brett Herron ,
GOOD Secretary-General
24 January 2025
The GOOD Party is shocked that the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson has taken to X to post “… there will be NO expropriation of private property without compensation on my watch. The guarantee of property rights under Section 25 of the Constitution is not up for debate and is non-negotiable.”
Expropriating land without compensation is not new. Section 25 of the Constitution (the same section quoted by the Minister) provides for nil compensation in circumstances in which it is just and equitable. And the matter has been settled in law for over 20 years.
In 2002 the Constitutional Court, In First National Bank of SA Ltd vs The Minister of Finance, the Constitutional Court ruled that: “…there are appropriate circumstances where it is permissible for legislation, in the broader public interest, to deprive persons of property without payment of compensation.”
As the Minister, he is the custodian of this law. If he has a personal conflict and is unable to fulfil his duties, he must resign.
The Democratic Alliance has already announced that they will “fight this dangerous legislation by every possible means, including in the courts.”
As the Minister he will be cited as a respondent in any legal challenge going forward.
As a public office bearer, he does not have the luxury of exercising personal preferences.
He has a responsibility to the people of South Africa to defend the law’s constitutionality.
The GOOD Party maintains that critics of the Expropriation Bill are using a dishonest and inflammatory narrative for self-gain.
This law does not allow for the arbitrary expropriation of land, it articulates the circumstances under which nil compensation would be just and equitable
Twenty-Three years ago, the Constitutional Court ordered that, “No one may be deprived of property except in terms of law of general application, and no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property”, we support the Expropriation Bill being signed into law.
Colonial and apartheid land grabs, the original sin, have been so inadequately addressed by land reform policies since the demise of apartheid.
South Africa needs both the tools and political will to set this straight.
If Minister Macpherson does not have the personal or political will to defend this constitutional right, he must resign.
Media enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Parliament
Cell: 082 5183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 083 5509875
Email: samantha@forgood.org.za