Expropriation Without Compensation Just One of the Tools for Land Reform: Ramaphosa

Expropriation without compensation “in defined circumstances” is but one of the ways to reform South Africa’s plans to achieve agrarian reform and spatial justice, and individual rights to land will also be recognised, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

Thereby Ramaphosa distanced his government from nationalising all the land, not for the first time.

He responded to the debate on his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament when he tackled the issue of land reform, which didn’t feature strongly in his SONA.

“A significant part of our efforts to unleash growth while advancing transformation is our accelerated programme of land reform,” Ramaphosa said.

He said by merging the portfolios of agriculture, rural development and land reform, government established “the institutional basis for a comprehensive approach to the economic development of our rural areas”.