CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
SPEECHES
EVENTS
ARTICLE: LET’S PRIVATISE THE LAND AUDIT
During the current Constitutional Review Committee hearings one frequently heard: “We want the land back that the whites took from us”. But who took the land and who owns it now, is not so clear. It has often been stated that without a proper and credible land audit, we cannot have a sober and balanced debate on land, and “that” land cannot be subject to land reform or redistribution.
The two land audits done by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), raise more questions than provide answers. Criticism has already been raised many times. The 2013 audit was intended to identify State land. The 2017 audit was intended to take stock of private land ownership in terms of race, gender and nationality. One private audit, done by Agri SA, was intended to quantify the ownership and commercial transfer of agricultural land.
ARTICLE: TAXI VIOLENCE IN THE WESTERN CAPE
The rate of violence linked to taxi wars in the Western Cape has risen alarmingly. It has been reported that between April 2018 and June 2018, 45 people died due to taxi violence, compared to 22 deaths over the same period in 2017. The situation has escalated to the point where the Police Minister, Bheki Cele, threatened to shut down the problematic taxi ranks and routes if taxi-related killings continued. This violence and the possibility of a shut-down does not only impact the lives of commuters and taxi operators. It also threatens the economic livelihood of the approximately 15 million people who rely on taxis daily, as a means by which to travel, for example, to and from their places of employment. As a result, the Western Cape Department of Transport called for hearings aimed at investigating the root causes of the violence, and a report on the same is expected on 6 July 2018.
ARTICLE: THE CENTRALITY OF PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR THE ECONOMY, FOR AGRICULTURE AND FOR THE NATIONAL ACCORD
On 4 July 2018 FW de Klerk spoke at a conference that his Foundation had convened in Johannesburg to discuss property rights for all South Africans and the role that land reform can play in expanding property rights.
De Klerk said that the ANC’s decision to proceed with expropriation without compensation (EWC) posed a fundamental threat to investment, economic growth, agriculture, food security and to the national accord on which our new nonracial democracy was founded.
It had been shown time and again that property rights were essential for economic growth and social development. “The top 20% of countries that best respect property rights have average per capita incomes of more than $50 000 – compared with less than $7 500 for the bottom 20%”.
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
- Equality
- Non-racialism
- Gender Rights
- The Constitution
- The Rule of Law
- Multiparty Democracy
- Personal Rights
- Cultural, Religious and Language Rights
- Freedom of Expression and Political Rights
- Social and Economic Rights
- Property Rights
- Education
- Access To The Courts, Information And Fair Adminstration