The Free Market Foundation believes that the two-week extension granted for comments on Expropriation without Compensation (EWC) is an insult.
The undue haste smacks of electioneering and public participation in bad faith, the organisation writes in this statement.
Changes to tobacco laws have been discussed and commented on for over five years. The comment period on the latest iteration, the draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, is 90 days. Yet, the comment period on the first real amendment to the Constitution, originally just 45 days, has now been extended to 60 days. One might ask: what are the politicians smoking?
The Constitution is not just a piece of paper. It is a document intended to protect citizens from the vagaries of government. While the Constitution has been amended before, the Bill of Rights has not. Expropriation without compensation would be the first amendment of a substantive character made to our highest law.
It defies the spirit of democracy and is unacceptable for a debate that should warrant years of considered deliberation to be squeezed into 60 days for written comment.
Government must reconsider and allow a minimum of six months, preferably 12, for debate, discussion and the lodging of submissions.
Restitution following apartheid’s land theft is essential. It is not necessary to change the Constitution to do this.
The High Level Panel reported in November 2017 that the State’s obligation to pay compensation for expropriation is not a constraint affecting land reform. More serious stumbling blocks have been corruption, diversion of the budget to elites, lack of political will, and lack of training and capacity.
The Panel, chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, was established in 2015 by the Speakers’ Forum to review the implementation of laws passed since 1994.
Its view was that government has not made effective use of the expropriation powers it already has for land reform or the Constitution’s provisions that allow compensation below market value in particular circumstances. The Panel reported that the budget for land reform is at an all-time low of less than 0.4% of the national budget, with less than 0.1% set aside for land redistribution.
The Free Market Foundation (FMF), and many others, are concerned about the short comment period on one of the most important debates in post-1994 South Africa.
Earlier this month, various civic and other organisations joined together to urge for an extension of the public comment period on Expropriation Without Compensation. These included: Accountability Now (IFAISA); Cliff Central; the FMF; Independent Entrepreneurship Group (Ineng); National African Federated Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NAFCOC); Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA); and the South Africa National Consumer Union (SANCU).
While we welcome the fact that government is in principle aware of the fact that the comment period is inadequate for such a big issue, the subsequent two-week extension is just not good enough. Our constitutional democracy is more important than political expediency, and must be protected regardless of government’s supposed time constraints.
Ends