CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BILL ON LAND REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA
BY : CHANON LECODEY MERRICKS ONLINE EDITOR KASiBC_AFRiCA©®™
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (“MK Party”) will on 27 May 2026 introduce the Constitution Amendment Bill in the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development.
This historic Bill seeks to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to explicitly provide for the expropriation of land without compensation for purposes of land reform.
It declares land as the common heritage of all South Africans, to be held under the joint custodianship of the State and Traditional Leadership in the public interest.
The amendment will enable the full expropriation of land without any form of compensation, remove all references to compensation in Section 25, and extend the cutoff date for national restitution claims from 19 June 1913 to 6 April 1652. This will bring the 87% of land currently excluded into the restitution & redistribution process, addressing historical dispossession dating back to the arrival of colonialism.
In line with Pillar 2 of the MK Party People’s Mandate: Reclaiming Our Land and Mineral Resources, the Bill fully recognises and restores the central role of our African Royalty and Traditional Leadership.
Traditional leaders, as the original and rightful custodians of the land and indigenous governance systems, will play a primary and authoritative role alongside the State in the administration, allocation, stewardship, and governance of land, particularly communal land.
This restores the dignity, authority, and historical responsibility of African Royalty and Traditional Structures in land matters.
The Bill aims to accelerate equitable access to land, empower the majority of South Africans to participate meaningfully in ownership, agriculture, and economic development, while advancing food security, poverty alleviation, and broader socio-economic transformation.
The MK Party recognises that many political parties, including the ANC, EFF, IFP, ATM, PAC, UAT, UDM and others, share the commitment to accelerated and meaningful land reform.
In line with this common purpose, the MK Party will embark on intensive consultations with all parties that seek to confront and resolve the original sin of land dispossession in our country.
The Bill will also be referred to the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, in recognition of the important role of traditional leadership.
Under the proposed framework, the State, in partnership with Traditional Leadership, will assume custodianship of land on behalf of the nation and grant secure, long-term leases that recognise traditional systems of inheritance and allocation under the guidance of Traditional Leaders and African Royalty.
These leases will be designed to be bankable and will provide citizens, farmers and businesses with the confidence to invest productively, while preventing speculation, hoarding, and foreign ownership.
The system will prioritise productive land use, safeguard food security, and provide targeted support to women, youth and rural communities.
The MK Party remains confident that this custodianship approach, rooted in African traditional governance, is both practical and workable.
South African examples such as the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and Waterfall City demonstrate that custodianship models can attract investment and support development without individual freehold title deeds.
Land reform is too critical to be delayed. The MK Party calls on all progressive parties and organisations to engage constructively with our Bill and to work together in building the broad support needed to pass this historic constitutional amendment.
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