A Controversial Land Bill Revives Debate Over Land Rights in South Africa

South Africa's land expropriation bill illuminates simmering racial and socioeconomic tensions sustaining the country's long-standing debate over land rights, but the bill is unlikely to usher in a renewed period of land expropriation. The South African National Assembly adopted a land expropriation bill on Sept. 28, despite objections from opposition parties. If South African President Cyril Ramaphosa enacts the bill, which he is likely to do, the bill will enable the government to purchase privately owned land against an owner's will for "public purpose" and in the "public interest," as stipulated in Section 25 of South Africa's Constitution. The bill also includes a "nil compensation" clause, which would amend the existing constitutional mandate on land reform by enabling the government to expropriate land without offering compensation in specific circumstances....