Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - July 2017 | Page 62
WEALTH
The Future of Land
Another View of the Expropriation Bill
BY WAYNE POCOCK
I
t is widely anticipated the Expropriation Bill, once
passed by parliament, will be used as a catalyst to
initiate large-scale expropriation of property in
order to fast-track land reform in South Africa. The
burning question, and the uncertainty brought about
by the Bill, is whether the value of the expropriated
property will be taken into consideration by the new
office of the valuer-general, key to the implementation
of the Expropriation Act, when determining the
amount of compensation payable to the owner/holder
of expropriated property.
For one thing, and for so long as s25 of our
Constitution requires just and equitable compensation
to be paid for expropriated property, land owners can
be assured that there can be no expropriation without
just and equitable compensation. However, the issue
lies not with the question of whether there will be
60
JULY 2017 SA Real Estate Investor
expropriation without compensation, but rather
whether the compensation will be determined by
application of recognised principles of valuation. In
other words, will the valuer-general’s compensation
be based on the market value and/or the replacement
cost of the expropriated property; or will the so-called
“public interest” outweigh and disregard the value of
the expropriated property, including the surrounding
market factors prevalent at the time of expropriation?
The concept ‘‘public interest’’ is defined in the Bill as South
Africa’s commitment to land reform, and to reforms to bring
about equitable access to all South Africa’s natural resources in
order to redress the results of past racial discriminatory laws
or practices.
www.reimag.co.za