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Is the Expropriation Act a litmus test for GNU?

todayJanuary 28, 2025 20

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Is the controversial Expropriation Act a litmus test for the Government of National Unity (GNU)?

That’s the question on the lips of some South Africans after DA leader, John Steenhuisen, said there is no point of the party being part of the GNU if the ANC continues to act without consultation.

The DA is the second largest party in the government and its exit from it could collapse the coalition.

Steenhuisen is angry over, what he terms, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s abrupt decision to sign the Land Expropriation Bill into law.

The signing came before the dust has even settled over the enacting of the Bela Bill and NHI, two other sore points for the DA.

Steenhusien says he only found out on social media that the President had enacted the bill.

He has accused the ANC of not being a good and trustworthy coalition partner.

The contentious piece of legislation allows for the expropriation of land and other property for public purpose and other purposes.

“If this current trend continues of Ramaphosa of simply giving a tin ear to the opinions and views, thoughts and ideas of DA ministers in government then there’s really no point us being there, we might as well sit as opposition in Parliament,” he told journalists.

“As I stated when we first entered the GNU; the DA will not be part of a government which crashes the economy or trashes the Constitution.”

The DA leader says he will be meeting with the President before the Cabinet Lekgotla on Thursday.

The FF Plus, which is also part of the GNU, has on the other hand threatened to challenge the Act in court.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which is the third largest party in the coalition government, is also unhappy with the signing of the bill into law.

EFF leader, Julius Malema, has on the other hand, rubbished the legislation as mere cosmetics.

He says it does not deal with the return of the land to its rightful owners.

“It talks about expropriation with compensation to justify a willing buyer and a willing seller. So, we don’t support the Expropriation Bill in its (current) form, but we will go to court to defend it against the right-wingers because in SA we are not happy with it, we are not happy with Freedom Front Plus and their friends,” he explains.

“So, any attack that comes from Freedom Front Plus is going to put us on the same side as Ramaphosa when we go to court.”

ATM leader, Vuyolwethu Zungula, has penned a letter to the Minister of Public Works, Dean Mcpherson, pleading with the government to use the law to expropriate abandoned and hijacked buildings in key urban areas and CBDs.

Zungula says the neglected buildings have become hotbeds of rampant crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and prostitution.

“Families and individuals living in these areas are subjected to a perpetual state of insecurity and fear, while criminals operate unchecked, further destabilising communities.”

He says this will also assist NSFAS, drowning in debt from unpaid rent.

“By repurposing these buildings, the government can provide a sustainable and cost-effective solution to ease the burden on NSFAS.”

Written by: Lindiwe Mpanza

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