Submission on the Draft Expropriation Bill, 2020

Natural Justice (NJ), a non-profit organization, submitted comments on the draft Expropriation Bill, 2020, to the South African Department of Public Works. While welcoming the Bill's goal to replace the Expropriation Act of 1975 and allow for expropriation without compensation to redress historical land imbalances, NJ argues the draft is too state-centric, lacks climate change considerations, and fails to provide sufficient mechanisms for public oversight and the protection of vulnerable land rights holders.

• The draft Expropriation Bill, 2020, aims to replace the Expropriation Act of 1975 to align legislation with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108 of 1996, specifically regarding the state's ability to perform expropriation without compensation for redistributive purposes.
• Natural Justice argues that land reform planning in South Africa fails to account for climate change and ecological constraints, noting that land is often allocated to farmers without necessary water rights or adaptive irrigation infrastructure in a largely dry country.
• The organization expresses concern that the Bill's definition of 'expropriating authority' creates a state-centric process that excludes the public, communities, and municipalities from initiating or influencing the expropriation process.
• NJ identifies a risk in Section 12(3)(e) where land purchased or improved via state subsidies intended to redress racial discrimination could be expropriated for nil compensation because its market value is less than the state investment.
• While the Bill recognizes 'unregistered rights'—affecting approximately 17 million people in communal areas and 2 million on commercial farms—NJ warns that these holders remain vulnerable to eviction unless a robust land administration system is implemented to record these rights.
• The proposed Expropriation Register under section 26 is criticized for being insufficient to monitor whether land reform is achieving equitable access or serving the public interest, as it lacks mechanisms for stakeholder challenges and detailed outcome reporting.
• NJ recommends the creation of an ombudsperson to represent public interests and the adoption of a Land Redistribution Framework Act to enhance oversight through district-level committees of local stakeholders.

APA

Natural Justice (2021). Submission on the Draft Expropriation Bill, 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NJ-2021-Submission-to-the-Expropriation-Bill.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Submission on the Draft Expropriation Bill, 2020. 2021. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NJ-2021-Submission-to-the-Expropriation-Bill.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=Submission on the Draft Expropriation Bill, 2020 |date=28 February 2021 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NJ-2021-Submission-to-the-Expropriation-Bill.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2021submission, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Submission on the Draft Expropriation Bill, 2020}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NJ-2021-Submission-to-the-Expropriation-Bill.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }