CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS

As modern constitutions stand, they can be amended as a means of responding to changing times and as a way of remaining relevant. The South African Constitution is no exception, having been amended no less than 17 times since it was adopted in 1996. The latest attempt involves amendments to the property clause.

The resolution passed this week by the National Assembly, of which the crux is to ensure  “that Government would continue the land reform programme that entails expropriation of land without compensation, making use of all mechanisms at the disposal of the state, implemented in a manner that increases agricultural production, improves food security and ensures that the land is returned to those from whom it was taken under colonialism and apartheid and undertake a process of consultation to determine the modalities of the governing party resolution”. The passed resolution is an amendment of the EFF-sponsored resolution, which essentially to sought to ensure the “necessity of the State being a custodian of all South African land”. Suffice to say, the EFF resolution as it stands, had it been passed and subsequently incorporated into the Constitution, would have abolished all notions of private property ownership.