MPs contradicted on Land Bill

2008-08-29 21:04

Cape Town - The Public Works Department on Friday disputed a parliamentary committee's assertion that there had not been proper consultation on the Expropriation Bill.

"The department does not know of any stakeholders who require consultation," it said in a statement.

The Bill, whose provisions allowed the government to pay below market prices for property it had earmarked for expropriation, was shelved on Tuesday by the National Assembly's public works committee because of a "lack of proper consultation".

During public hearings in June, a wide range of organisations including the FW de Klerk Foundation, the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CFCR) and Afriforum criticised the proposed legislation measure as being in contravention of constitutional protections of property rights.

Opposition parties also lambasted it, with the Democratic Alliance equating it to Zanu PF's land grab policies that contributed to Zimababwe's economic crisis.

While the department conceded that there was opposition to the legislation during hearings, it cited the more than 3nbsp;000 submission received from the country's nine provinces as evidence of the success of the consultative process.

"Public participation in this process was very successful, with all venues (with the exception of Mthatha) full to capacity. In these hearings, the Bill was debated comprehensively; questions were raised; clarification was sought and provided," the department said.

- SAPA