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"In January, Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, signed Expropriation Act No. 13 of 2024, which sets out when landowners might or might not be paid if the government seizes their property “for a public purpose or in the public interest.” Not yet in effect, the law specifies that a landowner won’t be compensated if the land is vacant and used only for speculation or if an owner has abandoned the land, but only after the parties fail to agree on a settlement. According to a 2017 government report, white people, who make up 7.3 percent of the population, own 72 percent of farms and agricultural land; Black people represent 81.4 percent of the population but own only 4 percent of the land. The new law builds on the 1996 Constitution’s effort to return land to Black people. 'The public interest includes the nation’s commitment to land reform,' it states, 'and to reforms to bring about equitable access to all South Africa’s natural resources.' But the Constitution fails to explicitly regulate uncompensated land seizures." READ MORE: (fb)