The DA explicitly rejects the idea of land expropriation without compensation and will continue to fight for property rights for all. This is a non-negotiable element in South Africa.
This is according to Clr Phillip de Lange, the DA leader in Ekurhuleni, following the executive’s mayor’s announcement on Thursday to start with the first expropriation of land without compensation in Ekurhuleni. This, despite the DA opposing this item, stating it was against the Constitution.
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“Following yesterday’s [Thursday] heated council meeting, the Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni fought to uphold the rule of law and protect property rights for all,” he said in a statement issued on Friday.
“As the DA, we requested a roll-call on the item, which saw the Speaker of Council, Ald Patricia Kumalo, call each councillor present in the chamber to individually vote on the item, instead of voting as political parties. The ANC used its majority to push the item through, but the roll-call did see some of the ANC-coalition partners leave the chambers to not participate in the vote,” De Lange said.
“This clear showcases how controversial this item was and exposed cracks within the shaky coalition.”
He said Ekurhuleni has over 119 informal settlements with people crying out for homes and title deeds. But, the ANC-led coalition has been unable to fulfil its constitutional mandate of delivering adequate housing, despite having funding available.
“We believe starting the process of expropriation without compensation will not help deliver more housing, as the ANC simply do not have the political will to serve the people. Since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the housing backlog has grown exponentially, because of the ANC’s lack of housing delivery and rampant corruption. What will change now, as the metro is already notoriously slow to hand out title deeds to residents?
“As the DA, we believe in ownership. Ownership brings not only the security of tenure but it also empowers people to use this asset to gain surety of capital, and it creates generational wealth.”
De Lange said Parliament had been given a November deadline regarding expropriation without compensation but Masina couldn’t wait and jumped the gun as a cheap political ploy to appease ANC voters, who are rapidly losing confidence in the ANC administration’s ability to deliver on housing.
“People deserve to own their homes and should not fear having these been taken away. We cannot deprive someone of their property. The right to property is a fundamental human right, and this “test case” being undertaken by the ANC in Ekurhuleni, is the first step towards trampling on people’s human rights,” said De Lange.
