It ’ s not just about land While many believe the Bill is strictly about land or immoveable property , Cronin maintains that this is not the case . Cronin is currently involved in leading ‒ from the government ’ s side ‒ the process of taking the Expropriation Bill through public consultation and the parliamentary process . He emphasises that , despite President Jacob Zuma ’ s repeated referral to the Bill as the Land Expropriation Bill , it is , in fact , a GENERAL expropriation bill that seeks to annul the 1975 Expropriation Act because of the Act ’ s unconstitutional nature .
Cronin highlights that the Bill seeks to provide for what Section 25 of the Constitution ( i . e . the Property Clause ) requires , namely “‘ law of general application ’ regarding expropriation ”. Section 25 states that , in matters related to the expropriation of property , “ property is not limited to land ”.
According to Cronin , this means that the proposed Bill doesn ’ t rule out , nor explicitly allow for , the expropriation of other types of property , such as intellectual property .
It ’ s not just about farm land either Having observed the so-called ‘ land reform policies ’ implemented in Zimbabwe under the leadership of Robert Mugabe , South Africans are understandably cautious about the concept of property expropriation , but still generally tend to think of it as being a rural or farmland issue .
Cronin sets the record straight : “ The democratic state needs expropriating powers . It needs to be able to drive rural land reform , but also mixed income , medium density human settlements in well-located
areas … These powers are needed not just for rural land reform , but also to confront run-away market forces driving the ongoing dispossession of the great majority of workers and poor in our country .” He adds that , as the government proceeds with radical reforms , it does need to be governed by the principle of just and equitable compensation .
For the DPW , the land issue is now a predominantly urban question . Cronin cites a “ systematic and mass-scale dispossession ” occurring in poor black communities and areas like Woodstock , Bo-Kaap and the Cape Flats . He highlights that this is being done in the name of development by speculative property market activities , “ aided and abetted by City officials ” and that , due to the crisis of indebtedness of the working poor and lower middle class , the scale of home-repossessions by the banks is fast approaching “ Apartheid-era Group Area removal proportions ”.
ADDRESSING THE LEGACY OF APARTHEID SPECIAL PLANNING
To address and transform historical spatial planning in Cape Town specifically , UCT ’ s African Centre for Cities and the Dutch International New Town Institute have formed a long-term collaboration that seeks to develop 120 hectares of open land between Pinelands and Observatory . The mixed-use project , called the Two Rivers Urban Park ( TRUP ) project , aims to create over 11 000 units for affordable housing for students and people earning less than R2000 and R25 000 per month .
According to a recent IOL article , the aim here is to create a “ diverse and yet socially inclusive ” precinct in the city and “ socially mixed , integrated and sustainable communities ” where people can live safely , “ work and play , and in particular … strive towards building a vibrant , safe , local resident community .”
12 APRIL 2017 SA Real Estate Investor www . reimag . co . za