President Cyril Ramaphosa expected.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa who is expected to resuscitate confidence to the public for the first time as the leader of the 7th administration of Government of National Unity (GNU) during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) has dismissed claims by USA President Donald Trump that his administration was confiscating land and mistreating certain classes of people.
It was clear that Trump was hogwash, and he didn’t understand the real dynamics in relation to the land issue which affected the majority in the form of black people when their land was taken away from them by the minority which included white farmers. The injustices of land were practiced during the apartheid regime which violated the dignity of black people in South Africa.
Trump said on social media platform that he would cut off all future funding to the country until there was a full investigation into allegations that “South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly.”
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told reporters on Wednesday that Ramaphosa’s administration will engage Trump further as well as his advisor Elon Musk including other role players in the USA. "Minister Macpherson will play a key role not only in leading that process but also in communicating the manner in which that process will be conducted. There is an element of public participation in the formulation of those regulations, which is another thing we have to explain to our US counterparts that in our legal framework, we do not have any provisions that allow the government to act arbitrarily," Magwenya said.
SA President Ramaphosa has signed into law the Expropriation Bill which repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975 and sets out how organs of State may expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons.
The Bill, which has undergone a five-year process of public consultation and parliamentary deliberation, aligns legislation on expropriation with the Constitution.
Section 25 of the Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation being paid.
Up to now, expropriation of property has been governed in terms of the Expropriation Act of 1975, which predates the expropriation mechanism provided for in section 25(2) of the Constitution.
The Bill assented to by President Ramaphosa outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis. This law will assist all organs of State - local, provincial and national authorities - to expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons.
Local, provincial and national authorities will use this legislation to expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons that seek, among others, to promote inclusivity and access to natural resources.
The Bill repeals the Expropriation Act and to provide a common framework in line with the Constitution to guide the processes and procedures for expropriation of property by organs of state.
In terms of this law, an expropriating authority may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest.
Expropriation may not be exercised unless the expropriating authority has without success attempted to reach an agreement with the owner or holder of a right in property for the acquisition thereof on reasonable terms.
An expropriating authority is therefore obliged to enter into negotiations with the owner of a property required for such purposes.
An expropriating authority must also attempt to reach an agreement on the acquisition of the property before resorting to expropriation - except in circumstances where the right to use property temporarily is taken on an urgent basis in terms of a provision in the legislation
The law provides for disputes to be referred for mediation or to appropriate courts.
USA President Donald Trump.
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