Expropriation Act is a ‘tool for justice’, says Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso

Professor Ruth Hall, acting director at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape speaks during a public dialogue on land justice and expropriation as a means of advancing land justice. 11 March 2025. (Photo: Shelley Christians/UWC)

By Tamsin Metelerkamp

17 Mar 2025

‘Our people are hungry for land. Their patience has run out… Our task is to address the need of our people for land, and we must have the political will to address these needs,’ Nyhontso said during a dialogue on the Expropriation Act.

Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso spoke about the Expropriation Act at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Tuesday, 11 March, describing it as a “tool for justice”.

The event, hosted by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas) and Tshisimani School for Activist Education, brought together academics, activists and residents to engage with the idea of expropriation for land reform purposes.

Nyhontso, who is also the president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, said: “The Expropriation Act intends to take the land and redistribute it, legally… We use this act as an opportunity to advance the cause [of activists] for land restoration and land justice.”

He referenced historic land dispossession policies in South Africa, including the Natives Land Act, the 1951 Bantu Authorities Act and the 1950 Group Areas Act, which resulted in the forced removal of black people from land, “leaving them dehumanised and robbed of their dignity”.

“Until this point, the 1975 Expropriation Act was used to expropriate land. Let’s bear in mind that all countries have a land expropriation act for public purpose. The Expropriation Act of 2025 replaces the outdated 1975 Expropriation Act, bringing South Africa’s land reform policies in line with constitutional principles,” said Nyhontso.

He noted that the 1975 act was designed to serve state interests with minimal legal protection for affected property owners, whereas the 2025 act introduced a “transparent expropriation framework” that balanced land reform with legal safeguards.

“It clarifies compensation principles, strengthens legal protection and introduces the subject of expropriation without compensation under specific conditions, as stated in section 13 of the Act. The courts play an important role in interpreting this act. There is no predetermined decision of nil compensation. For all cases where this Act is involved, the court can arrive at nil compensation based on the merits of the case,” said Nyhontso.

Read more: Expropriation Bill: decades in the making, what lies ahead for South Africa?

“One of the major shifts in the new legislation is the distinction between public purpose and public interest, both of which justify expropriation under the law. Public purpose includes infrastructure projects, public service expansion and environmental conversations, while public interest focuses on land reform and equitable resource distribution.”

Attendees during a public dialogue on land justice and expropriation as a means of advancing land justice held at the University of the Western Cape on 11 March 2025. (Photo: Shelley Christians / UWC)

Expropriation Act controversy

The Expropriation Act has been a source of controversy since it was signed into law in January. The DA has filed court papers in the Western Cape High Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Act and calling for it to be nullified in its entirety.

US President Donald Trump has added to the furore over the Act by making claims on social media that the South African government was “confiscating land” and “treating certain classes of people very badly”, without providing evidence. His administration has since offered refugee status to Afrikaners who are “victims of unjust racial discrimination”.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to Trump’s claims, saying the government had not confiscated any land and the Expropriation Act was aimed at ensuring public access to land “in an equitable and just manner”, as guided by the Constitution.

At Tuesday’s event, Nyhontso said: “The President of the United States, Donald Trump, issued an invitation to South African farmers, to Afrikaners, to come to the United States because the South African government is confiscating their land. The Expropriation Act is not a land confiscation [act], but they can accept the challenge and go to America.”

Read more: Trump’s Afrikaner refugees could be in for a long wait — if previous US policies apply

The Expropriation Act falls under the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, currently headed by Minister Dean Macpherson of the DA. Nyhontso said the public works minister needed to “follow the law and implement accordingly”.

“The government will certainly use the Expropriation Act for public purpose, and regardless of the party at the helm of the Public Works Department, committed departments – for example, water and sanitation, human settlement, health and education – will certainly be interested in accessing land to meet demands of their various projects,” he said.

Nyhontso said officials in the Department of Land Reform had presented the first draft of the Equitable Access to Land Bill to the portfolio committee on land reform and rural development on 19 February.

“This is the old land redistribution bill that was first proposed in 2018. The bill should be viewed together with the Expropriation Act… The proposed Equitable Access to Land Bill is aimed at speeding up the process of land redistribution,” he said.

“Our people are correctly hungry for land. Their patience has run out… Our task is to address the need of our people for land, and we must have the political will to address these needs.”

Professor Ruth Hall, acting director at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape, speaks during the public dialogue on land justice and expropriation as a means of advancing land justice on 11 March 2025. (Photo: Shelley Christians / UWC)

Challenging spatial apartheid

Among the community activists who spoke at UWC was Bettie Fortuin of the Women on Farms Project, who said the organisation supported the Expropriation Act.

“There’s a slogan that says... ‘the land shall belong to those who work the land’. I was 13 years old when I started working on the land and I’m over 60 now, and I still haven’t got land,” said Fortuin.

Bevil Lucas of Reclaim the City, a Cape Town-based housing rights organisation, said there was a need to challenge the borders that had been artificially created in Cape Town.

“We work in the urban space to try and challenge the narrative of the continuation of spatial apartheid, which has not been undone… We live in a city that behaves as if it’s a privately owned city… and so our response to engage with the City is paramount,” he said.

Nazeer Sonday, a small-scale farmer from the Philippi Horticultural Area, said he considered expropriation to be an effective strategy for dealing with issues of land justice. DM

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South Africa

Expropriation Act controversy

Challenging spatial apartheid