Dear Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development,

Section 12(3) of the Bill sets out the listed circumstances under which land can be expropriated for nil compensation.

There are many aspects of this section that need to be addressed in order to provide clarity and certainty and to avoid the arbitrary deprivation of citizen’s right to property.

The use of the words “including, but not limited to” is unacceptable and should be deleted. This phrase opens the flood gates to a plethora of bases on which land can be expropriated and can lead to abuse.