Author: David Dickinson

The Expropriation Act has triggered shrill protests and threats. This cacophony of criticism is diverting us from a key question we should be asking: Will the Act achieve its purpose? There is a fundamental difference between the old and new expropriation acts. The 1975 Expropriation Act only permitted expropriation for “public purpose” – when the state needed the land. The new Expropriation Act of 2024 allows for property to be expropriated in the public interest as well as for public purpose. Expropriating land in the public interest imparts a far wider mandate. The 2024 Act’s preamble quotes Section 25 of…