Latest news with #MakoneMaja
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Institute of Race Relations slams unclear expropriation law
The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) calls on Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson to disclose all state bodies empowered under the Expropriation Act. The Expropriation Act allows property to be seized below market value, raising concerns about property rights in South Africa. Makone Maja of the IRR says more than 400 state entities may already hold expropriation powers. ALSO READ: Ekurhuleni residents to face new tariff hikes IRR polling shows 68% of South Africans oppose the Expropriation Act. The IRR will this week write to Macpherson, seeking clarity on how many public entities have been granted the power to expropriate property under the recently enacted Expropriation Act. The act grants expropriating authorities broad powers to seize property, including land, homes, and business assets, potentially at below-market value. It provides limited legal recourse for owners to challenge such actions in court. The IRR has raised concerns over the lack of transparency about the number of government bodies authorised to carry out expropriations. Makone Maja, the IRR's strategic engagements manager, said the law is unpopular among South Africans and poses a significant threat to property rights. 'Our polling conducted in March and April shows that 68% of registered voters oppose the Expropriation Act,' said Maja. 'The act is so broadly worded that all forms of property – including savings and pensions – are now vulnerable.' According to the IRR, at least 426 public entities currently have the authority to expropriate property under the Act. However, the organisation believes the actual number may be closer to 1 000. ALSO READ: Issues plaguing Edenvale tackled in a heated meeting 'It is the height of policy recklessness for such vast powers to be granted to an unknown number of authorities,' said Maja. 'If the number is unclear, how can citizens have confidence that these powers will not be abused?' The IRR argues that uncertainty around expropriation powers could undermine investment, economic growth and food security. In its Blueprint for Growth policy series, the institute emphasises the importance of secure property rights as a foundation for economic empowerment. Maja added that South Africa's history of corruption and abuse of power makes the lack of oversight especially troubling. ALSO READ: Court orders the removal of illegal billboard on Gillooly's 'We have seen how state power can be misused,' she said. 'It is deeply irresponsible to empower a vast and unaccountable network of officials to take property without clear safeguards. 'The minister must urgently disclose which entities have been given this authority and explain how abuse will be prevented.' The IRR has called on the government to publish a full list of authorised expropriating entities and to provide clarity on how the act will be implemented to protect constitutional property rights. For more information, visit At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
03-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Expropriation Act: How many expropriating authorities are empowered by the Act?
The Expropriation Act is written so broadly that every form of property in South Africa is now subject to expropriation below market value. From homes to farms to businesses to savings to pensions, all forms of property are, in terms of the Act, vulnerable to expropriation, says Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager. The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) will this week write to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, requesting clarity on a crucial matter related to the Expropriation Act, for which the Minister is responsible. The Act grants sweeping powers to expropriating authorities to expropriate any form of property below market value. It offers weak and contradictory measures to property owners to protect their rights through the courts. Yet, just how many authorities in South Africa are granted expropriating powers by the Act is unclear; by IRR calculations, the number could exceed 400. Says Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager: 'The Expropriation Act is an unpopular piece of legislation. IRR opinion polling in March and April this year found that 68% of registered voters oppose the Act. It's easy to understand why. The Act is written so broadly that every form of property in South Africa is now subject to expropriation below market value. From homes to farms to businesses to savings to pensions, all forms of property are, in terms of the Act, vulnerable to expropriation. And yet there seems to be no clarity from the government on the exact number of entities the law empowers to confiscate property on astonishingly flimsy grounds.' As illustrated in the IRR's flagship Blueprint for Growth series, property rights are a vital means of economic participation and empowerment only if they are secure. Weaken the certainty with which people can own what's lawfully theirs and the knock-on consequences range from undermining food security to wiping out pensions and savings. Says Maja: 'It is the height of policy recklessness for this door of vast state power to be opened to an unknown number of expropriating authorities. If the number of these authorities is unknown, how can South Africans have any trust that the sweeping expropriating powers granted by the Act won't be abused? 'We have all heard the horror stories of extortion by state officials – from kickback mafias to corruption. We are a country familiar with the disgusting abuse of state power. The Expropriation Act empowers a vast expropriation network at all levels of the state. The IRR has thus far tallied at least 426 such authorities, yet the number might rise to close to a thousand. This is a terrifying prospect. The Minister has a duty to provide urgent clarity on this matter.' The Institute of Race Relations Johannesburg
IOL News
21-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
IRR to equity consultants: Will you recommend firing employees who refuse racial classification?
The government blatantly refuses to comply with its racial directives while compelling the private sector to obey. The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) on 21 May wrote to ten employment equity consulting firms across South Africa to ask for clarity on a core issue of liberty and law: will they advise their clients to dismiss employees who refuse to racially classify themselves under the Employment Equity Amendment Act? This direct engagement follows the implementation of coercive sectoral race quotas in April 2025, now enforced by more than 50 newly deployed equity inspectors. These officials have been tasked with upholding a system built on mandatory racial categorisation. This policy undermines merit-based hiring, punishes success, and promotes job-killing regulations at the expense of economic growth and personal dignity. Says IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Makone Maja: 'Not only do the regulations undermine the rule of law, with evidence of the state's unwillingness to adhere to its own rules, but they highlight the challenge of compliance with the draconian and arbitrary red tape they entrench.' The Commission for Employment Equity recently reported to Parliament that of the 29 269 reports from public and private companies employing nearly 7.7 million people, or 45% of the share of the employed in the last quarter of 2024, only 1.9% of the reports were provided by government entities and state-owned entities. This demonstrates the state's blatant refusal to comply with its racial directives while compelling the private sector to obey.
IOL News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
IRR challenges universities on racial classification amid new quotas
IRR's Makone Maja warns that racial quotas in South African universities threaten academic freedom and merit, urging institutions to prioritise excellence over bureaucratic box-ticking. Image: WalterSisuluUniversity/Facebook The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is calling on the vice-chancellors and principals of all 26 South African universities to clarify whether they intend to forcibly classify their staff by race, should individuals decline to self-classify, in line with the recently gazetted Employment Equity Sectoral Numerical Targets. These new quotas, set to take effect later this year, are creating significant concern among institutions and individuals alike. According to the IRR, these quotas, described as 'targets' to avoid legal challenges, will require employers in both the public and private sectors to conduct workforce audits. This includes compelling staff to complete the EEA1 form, which mandates racial identification in four categories: African, Coloured, Indian, or White. However, the form offers no option for those unwilling to classify themselves racially, raising serious concerns about constitutional rights such as freedom of association, dignity, and equality. IRR Strategic Engagements Manager, Makone Maja, highlighted the gravity of the situation, stating, 'We are writing to universities, who are explicitly included in the regulations, to ask if they will compel staff to identify by race – and if they will forcibly assign racial identities to those who refuse. ''Universities are not mere employers; they are meant to be champions of free thought, academic inquiry, and the nurturing of merit and excellence. For institutions of learning to submit meekly to a pencil-test system of demeaning race audits is to betray their purpose.' The IRR has voiced concerns that the implementation of racial quotas, driven by the ideology of 'demographic representivity,' has not brought about the intended social justice or job creation. Instead, it has contributed to stagnation, corruption, and the deterioration of key sectors. As emphasised by Maja, 'Racial quotas serve political elites, entrenching bureaucracy and box-ticking over merit, and sow division rather than build excellence and trust.' Maja further stressed the unintended consequences of such quotas, arguing that they undermine the true goal of upliftment.
