Legislation: Revised Expropriation Bill a work in progress

The revised Expropriation Bill is only mentioned in passing in the official version of Public Works & Infrastructure Minister Patricia De Lille’s 2019/20 budget vote speech – as one of several pieces of legislation on which her department will be working during the remainder of the financial year, notes Pam Saxby for Legalbrief Policy Watch. The others (including the 2000 Construction Industry Development Board Act) govern the ‘built environment professions’ and are being reviewed – along with White Papers relevant to developing a ‘Public Works and Infrastructure Bill’. The speech was finally posted yesterday on the department’s website – eight days after being delivered. It has yet to join other budget vote speeches for the year on the main government site.

A draft revised Expropriation Bill was gazetted last December for comment, as has been widely reported. Described by former Public Works Deputy Minister Jeremy Cronin as ‘a law of general application’, it will determine when expropriation without compensation – as one of several instruments for accelerating land reform – may be used and by which authorities, as well as the procedures to be followed. Once approved by Cabinet for tabling in Parliament, the Bill will be subjected to a public participation process not only in the National Assembly but also in the provincial legislatures. This is mandatory in terms of the Constitution. The same will apply to any Constitution Amendment Bill emerging from the review of section 25. Against that backdrop, information on the process of finalising the revised Expropriation Bill merited more than a passing mention from De Lille, although she reportedly ‘ran out of time’ when delivering her speech (Business Day) and may well have intended to elaborate.

This notwithstanding, given that R2.3bn of the department’s budget has been allocated to an expanded public works programme designed to assist government in its efforts to ‘confront the scourge of poverty and unemployment’, the speech alludes to some worrying ‘pitfalls’ apparently identified during the programme’s first three phases. They include ‘under-reporting’ and ‘poor record keeping’ in respect of work opportunities created across all three spheres of government but presumably either under-utilised or squandered; ‘patronage’, lack of transparency and ‘inconsistency’ in recruiting participants; and non-compliance with the relevant ministerial determination, resulting in ‘auditing challenges’. ‘Some municipalities’ have even used expanded public works programme allocations ‘to fund core functions’, according to the Minister – hence her determination to be ‘directly involved’ in monitoring and evaluating the programme as it enters its next phase.

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