Johannesburg - AfriForum has come out with guns blazing, launching a campaign against the Expropriation Bill that they claim threatens private property rights.
According to the civil society group, this campaign has a local, national, and international component.
"Nationally, this campaign involves a manifesto signed by 13 civil rights, agricultural, political and other organisations from across the country opposing the Expropriation Bill. AfriForum’s legal team also wrote a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa today," said an AfriForum statement.
AfriForum said that the letter highlighted the Expropriation Bill’s unconstitutionality and dangers, and on that basis, it requests the president to refer the bill back to the legislature and that it be referred to the Constitutional Court beforehand.
Ernst van Zyl, AfriForum's Campaign Officer for Strategy and Content, says AfriForum has already taken a strong stance against the Expropriation Bill during the comment period and will do everything in its power to stop this destructive bill.
"We cannot allow the government to have the power to just grab any property they want. So AfriForum launched this comprehensive, multi-level campaign. Bills have already been stopped in their tracks during this phase where they are sent to the Council of Provinces and then the President for approval, due to public or international pressure," said van Zyl.
The organisation said it would be mobilising its branches at local level to hand over the manifesto to their provincial governments.
"As part of the international component of this campaign, AfriForum will address letters to the embassies in the country. In these letters, AfriForum requests that these embassies inform their home countries of the latest threat to private property rights in South Africa. AfriForum also plans to inform the extensive network of contacts that the organisation has built up abroad about the dangers of the Expropriation Bill," said the organization.
According to a parliamentary statement, the purpose of the Expropriation Bill is to repeal the existing Expropriation Act of 1975 to provide a common framework in line with the Constitution to guide the processes and procedures for the expropriation of property by organs of state.
It further seeks to provide for certain instances where expropriation with no compensation may be appropriate in the public interest.
In September, the National Assembly passed the Expropriation Bill.
The Star