DPW’s Expropriation Bill Adopted by Portfolio Committee on Public Works
The Expropriation Bill that was introduced in 2015 and sent back to the Department of Public Works for corrections, has finally been adopted by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Works on 2 February 2016 in Cape Town.
The bill, which will set the rules under which the state can lay a claim to urban and rural property, gives Public Works Minister the right to expropriate land for a public purpose, such as building a road or erecting a power line, or in the public interest, for instance to institute land reform.
It sets out the law of general application for property expropriation, as required by section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa under property.
The bill details the process to be followed, including the time given as notice of expropriation, the exact steps, how the price of the land is determined and what the appeals processes are.
The bill will now be debated at the National Assembly to further be voted upon. Should the bill pass there, it will be held up for public hearings and voted on again at the National Council of Provinces, after which it will be sent to the President of the Republic of South Africa to be signed into law.
