After obtaining Cabinet approval, the Minister of Public Works published a revised Expropriation Bill on 21 December 2018.

The key amendment from the previous draft is the addition of section 12(3). Section 12(3) reads:
“ It may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid where land is expropriated in the public interest, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including but not limited to:
(a) Where the land is occupied or used by a labour tenant, as defined in the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 1996 (Act No. 3 of 1996);
(b) where the land is held for purely speculative purposes;
(c) where the land is owned by a state-owned corporation or other state-owned entity;
(d) where the owner of the land has abandoned the land;
where the market value of the land is equivalent to, or less than, the present value of direct state investment or subsidy in the acquisition and beneficial capital improvement of the land.”

Interested parties have 60 days to comment of the revised draft. A copy of the revised draft may be obtained here.

Rian Geldenhuys
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