South African President signs controversial bill to allow land seizure

Farmers in South Africa have raised alarm bells after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill on January 23

Alex Black
clock • 2 min read
Section 25 of the South African Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone's property for a public purpose or in the public interest.
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Section 25 of the South African Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone's property for a public purpose or in the public interest.

The law, which replaces the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975, allows the government to seize land in the name of ‘public interest'. Land reform This includes not just public services but ‘the...

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