Property speculators: Government's "Enemy #1"

What benchmark will government use to determine the price of land earmarked for expropriation?

The South African government is reportedly getting closer to wrapping up amendments to the controversial land expropriation legislation and has indicated that it will pay ‘evaluation' prices to prevent opportunistic speculators from driving prices up disproportionately.

Although the controversy has focused on farmland the proposed bill is applicable to all private property and what we would like to know is whose valuation is it anyway?

Not everything is equal when it comes to property valuation. Urban home and land owners will attest to this. Since the introduction of new municipal valuations for residential properties and vacant land, there have been numerous complaints about some valuations being substantially above those estimated by private valuers.

We're pretty certain that government won't be over-valuing any property it has earmarked for expropriation, but will it stick to the rates and taxes-based municipal evaluations, which mostly pegs itself to market value (and at times above)?

If this is the case, property owners don't have much to fear, but judging from what was said in parliament earlier this week, crying won't persuade government to give you more than what they think your property is worth.

Some critics believe government can't be trusted to play fair, because proposed amendments to the expropriation act was published in the government gazette right before festive season in 2007 when few people were around to notice, or object to proposals made in it.

And when an ANC member uses a term like "sunset clause" in reference to constitutional clauses that protect property rights, it doesn't help matters much.

Thus far there are no clear indications as to who or what will be responsible for valuing properties earmarked for expropriation. It also remains to be seen how much power is given to the Minister of Public Works to expropriate property in the "public interest".

Leoni Kok

* Leoni Kok is a property journalist.

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Given the nonsense that senior ANC politicians including wee Julius stated about the Caster Semenya debacle, what senior ANC members said about HIV causing AIDS in the Mbeki era, the mute silence of Gcbashe when deadlines passed for new electricity power stations, the constant refrain of racism whenever the ANC cannot . .more immediately get its way especially the younger members (wee Julius, his predecessor) one cannot but be concerned that expropriation will not be carried out in a fair manner. One simply looks to see how plain stupidly the existing land restitution process has been carried out. The officials are just lacking in any demonstrated intelligence quotient whatsoever. . .less by semaarnet on November 07 2009, 10:36 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

As usual, you have all got it wrong Land reform and expropriation of assets has about as much to do with agricuture and National wealth generation as the tooth fairy has to do with exo-planetary discovery in distant solar sytems. Land reform and 'expropriation" is nothing more than . .more the policy of Idi Amin updated to take account of cosmetic changes to african barbarity. In the SA context land reform and expropriation is an extension of juilius nyrere's murderous, cynical, and genocidal policy of villagisation. The ANC has identified its kulaks and we are they. Don't you find it both appalling and tragically humorous that the whole (yes the entire cabinet of Ministerial big bums bows and scapes to a fat-facedlittle boy who is dying of degenerative disease brought on by nandos fast foods, alcohol and hubris who does not understand what a hermaphrodite is?) Even the Michelin mannetje Mboweni is terrified of Malema. Robert Mugabe at least has a couple of University degrees . .less by Plutarch on November 07 2009, 22:24 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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