Tag Archives: the Republic of South Africa President

Consequences of Expropriation Bill being exaggerated

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Picture: Economist at North West University, Professor Waldo Krugell/Google

By BAKANG MOKOTO

29 January 2025- The Republic of South Africa president, Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law. Simply put, the bill allows the state to expropriate land in the public interest, including without compensation.

The economist at North West University (NWU) Professor, Waldo Krugell said signing of the Bill elicited no little backlash from the public, as well as from certain political parties, while others praised it. However, Krugell asked if all the fanfare warranted?

“The answer is an unequivocal no. Ramaphosa’s signing of the Expropriation Bill is not, on the face of it, the crisis that some people make it out to be. It is important to remember that the state has always had the power to expropriate.

“The process of updating the law began in 2004, and last week’s signing of the Bill is not directly related to the debate on expropriation without compensation of 2017 and 2018,” he said.

Krugell further said the new Bill replaces the original law of 1975 and defines the circumstances under which the state can expropriate land in the public interest. He added that it also defines the process by which the state must engage property owners and compensate them.

“The law will now be applied and interpreted by the courts. Although the reaction to the signing of the Bill might have been taken out of proportion, a clearer, more focused message would have done wonders to allay market fears.

“The fact that this sometimes sounds like a crisis says something about our politics. People feel the state can expropriate, but not everyone trusts this government to do so fairly,” said Krugell.

He said political analysts say the President signed the law now because he had to send a signal to ANC loyalists that he still supports their agenda of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). Krugell said he does not know if that faction of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party can still be persuaded, but the signal does nothing for the unity in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

“For the sake of investors and the economy, one would much rather hear a focused message of market-oriented reform. Research shows that policy uncertainty is bad for investment and low levels of investment are bad for economic growth.

“Faster growth is all that can create the opportunities that can reduce the inequalities of the past,” he said.

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‘In the world of today, no country can go it alone’

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Picture: RSA president, Cyril Ramaphosa

By OBAKENG MAJE

28 January 2025- The Republic of South Africa president, Cyril Ramaphosa said the South African delegation that went to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, was upbeat, confident that the country is overcoming the challenges that it is facing. Ramaphosa said democracy is thriving.

He further said their energy challenges are now a story of opportunity. Ramaphosa added that every year in January, thousands of leaders from government, business and other sectors gather in this town in the Alps to discuss the state of the global economy.

“This year, South Africa was invited to present its priorities for its G20 Presidency. In a plenary address and in a separate discussion with business leaders, we outlined our theme for the G20 this year – Solidary, Equality, Sustainable Development – and the focus areas through which we will give meaning to this theme.

“We made the point that it is in the interests of all countries, large and small, wealthy and poor, to reduce global inequality. That is why one of our priorities is ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries,” he said.

Ramaphosa said by freeing up funds for debt relief in these countries, they will be in a better position to invest in infrastructure, industrial development, education, health care and other forms of development. He said another focus area, which both reduces poverty and promotes sustainability, is the mobilisation of finance for a just energy transition.

“Through this, developing economy countries will be able to pursue a low-carbon development path while protecting the interests of affected workers, businesses and communities.

“Related to this is another focus area: the mobilisation of special financing and insurance to enable vulnerable countries to rebuild after being struck by natural disasters,” said Ramaphosa.

He said the fourth focus area is to harness critical minerals, which are abundant in Africa and other countries of the Global South, to promote inclusive growth and development. Ramaphosa said they are proposing a G20 framework on ‘green’ industrialisation so that countries endowed with these resources must be the ones that benefit most.

“We stressed that our themes and priorities are underpinned by the principle of cooperation. Throughout history, human progress has been possible only through collaboration among peoples and countries.

“We therefore renewed our call for the resolution of global challenges through multilateral actions. We called for inclusive solutions that recognise that the world is more interconnected than ever before,” he said.

Ramaphosa said cooperation is vital, if they are to overcome the existential threat of climate change. He said carbon emissions into the atmosphere, global warming and the extreme weather events that it causes do not recognise national boundaries or political systems.

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BELA is vital for transformation of education system

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Picture: RSA president, Cyril Ramaphosa 

By OBAKENG MAJE

24 December 2024- On 13 September 2024, the Republic of South Africa President, Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. Ramaphosa said this Act is vital to the transformation of the education system in the country.

He further said the Act is an important part of ongoing efforts to build an education system that is more effective and more equitable in line with the precepts of the constitution. Ramaphosa added that the BELA Act continues the work that has been done over the last 30 years to ensure that all children have equal access to quality education – from their early years and throughout their schooling.

“As a democratic country committed to building a new society, we have stated unequivocally that all children must get an education that prepares them to succeed in life, no matter what the circumstances of their birth might be, no matter where they live, no matter what language they speak.

“In implementing this Act, we are all ultimately guided by the constitution. The Bill of Rights guarantees the right of every person to equality. It guarantees the right of every person to receive a basic education,” he said.

Ramaphosa said importantly, the constitution says that every person has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice, where reasonably practicable. He said this is a right that applies equally to an English-speaker as it does a Zulu-speaker.

“It applies equally to someone who speaks Afrikaans as it does to someone who speaks Xitsonga, Sesotho, Sepedi, isiXhosa, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiNdebele or siSwati. And now, it also applies equally to someone who uses the South African Sign Language.

“The Basic Education Laws Amendment Act enacts measures that strengthen the ability of our schools to give effect to these Constitutional rights. In the application of this law, we must ensure that no language is diminished,” said Ramaphosa.

He said rather, they must work to ensure that all official languages are valued and promoted. Ramaphosa said at the time that he assented to the BELA Bill, he noted that a number of parties to the Government of National Unity (GNU), and other key role players in the country had expressed their wish to further engage each other on sections of the bill that deal with issues of admission and language.

“I said that whilst I had assented to the Bill, in the spirit of cooperation and meaningful engagement, I would delay the implementation date of the BELA Act in totality by three months. This would give the parties time to deliberate on these issues and make proposals on how the divergent views may be accommodated.

“I also said should the parties not agree on an approach at the end of the three-month period, I would then direct the Minister and the Department to proceed with the implementation of the Act. Over the last three months, discussions have been held with a view of reaching consensus on these outstanding clauses of the BELA Act,” he said.

Ramaphosa said various formations outside of government have also made representations, both for and against the relevant sections. He said last week, he received a report from the GNU ‘clearing house’ mechanism.

“This is the structure which brings together the parties to the GNU and other parties represented in Parliament to deal with contentious issues and thereafter report to the leaders of the political parties represented in the GNU.

“In their final report, the parties agreed that the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act should not be sent back to Parliament to make changes to the sections that were in contention,” said Ramaphosa.

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