The Democratic Alliance (DA) has not given up on the parliamentary process dealing with the Expropriation Bill, party leader Helen Zille said on Monday.
Briefing the media in Cape Town, Zille said the fact that DA MP Sydney Opperman last week staged a walkout during public hearings on the measure does not mean that the party will no longer participate in further parliamentary processes.
”He will stick very much to parliamentary hearings,” she said.
If passed, the legislation will give the government powers to expropriate land from property owners.
According to the government, the proposed law will help speed up the land-redistribution process, which it says has been delayed by the current willing-seller, willing-buyer provision contained in the current Expropriation Act.
However, Zille said ”unconstitutional” clauses in the measure pose a serious threat to the country’s constitution, as well as economy.
”The Bill in its current form constitutes a full-on assault on some of the most fundamental principles of our Constitution and should be of concern to everyone.
”It will threaten the very foundation South Africa’s economy — the security of properly rights — leading to massive disinvestment and capital flight,” she said.
While the party will continue trying to convince the government not to proceed with the measure in its current form, it will not hesitate taking the Constitutional Court route if its calls are ignored.
Zille disputed the government’s position that the measure will benefit the poor.
”The DA fully supports a sustainable and equitable land-reform process. But the Expropriation Bill … will bring about exactly the opposite result by undermining a legally sound land reform,” she said. — Sapa