Tag: Property rights

We have called upon Parliament to repeal the Expropriation Act of 2024. We also urge lawmakers to introduce a just and equitable land reform programme that adheres to both the text and the spirit of the Constitution. This is an essential step toward pursuing real land reform.

On January 24, 2025, the country experienced a wave of mixed emotions. This followed the President’s signing of the contentious Expropriation Bill of 2020 into law as the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024. The President has not yet announced the commencement date. Consequently, the Act is not yet in force, and there is no indication of when this announcement will be made.

Given the multi-faceted nature of the Metaverse, the disputes that could arise are limitless. It is therefore important that dispute resolution mechanisms that will be used in dealing with Metaverse-related disputes are agile enough to account for a new legal environment.

Historical land dispossession has handicapped South Africa’s economic development, particularly of small businesses and small-scale agriculture. This, combined with continued restrictions on subdivision, lack of secure title, and threats to constitutional property rights, impede rapid land reform and economic growth.

The international company Meta (which owns Facebook and WhatsApp) has been referred to the Competition Tribunal, to be fined 10% of its turnover for violating Section 8 provisions of the Competition Act, which prohibit the abuse of dominance by a company.

The Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Amendment Act of 2021 was assented to in May 2021 by the President. This amendment was necessitated by a case, Rahube v Rahube, heard initially in the North Gauteng High Court, with the Constitutional Court later confirming the order. The amendment changes the landscape around the conversion of insecure title into secure private title.

Section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is constantly under attack. Coming off a vote in parliament where its proposed amendment failed. The section specifically is under attack again. The Constitution in general was critiqued by the Minister of Tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu. Yet, property rights specifically are singled out, citing Professor Ramose who called it (s25) the ‘longest clause’. The right to private title, is attacked as being representative of colonialism. Is this true?

The recent press reports of the Venezuelan government relaxing its controls over the economy is heartening. This comes after the government of Zimbabwe also in recent years signalled its intention to open up for business and set right the disaster of Mugabe-era land grabs. South Africa would do well to take heed of this trend away from socialism toward freedom.

The Rule of Law principle at the heart of South Africa’s constitutional dispensation is there to prohibit arbitrariness from government and demand reasonableness. Government’s plans to bring about expropriation without compensation (EWC), especially as a constitutional amendment, is a good case study of that very arbitrariness our legal system has been set up to combat.

We are an investment manager investing in South Africa. Our capital comes exclusively from American investors. Being based in New York and Johannesburg gives us a useful perspective on how SA is perceived by the international investment community.