Deputy Speaker, today I would like to talk to you directly and address a matter of great concern for us. Whilst there are various issues of concern contained in this Bill, the most pressing matter for us relates to property rights.
In my informal discussions with parliamentary members of the ANC, I am continuously given the impression that the ANC will protect property. Yet, when one has regard to the legislation tabled in this House by the ANC, a different message becomes clear. In this Bill, government wants a 20% free carry interest in any petroleum and gas concern. Furthermore, it also provides the right for the government to buy up to an 80% interest in that very same business. Government could, thus, potentially end up owning 100% of such a business. This smacks of nationalisation by stealth. Add to this picture the clause found in the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill, which determines that government can siege property and hold it as custodian and that it, in terms of a Constitutional Court judgment, cannot be subject to any claims for compensation. The picture is completed when one has regard to the reopening of the land claims process, wherein any expropriation will not compensated by way of a market-related price.
Hierdie wetgewende kwashale skilder 'n baie donker prentjie vir 'n land wat hom voorhou as een met 'n moderne ekonomie waarvan die hoeksteen die private eiendomsreg is. Hierdie wetgewende ingrypings stuur 'n baie duidelike sein vir enige buitestaander: dat die ANC besig is om Julius Malema se beleid te implementeer, maar net op 'n baie meer gesofistikeerde wyse.
Die vraag wat ek aan u wil vra, Minister, en u moet dit asseblief eerlik antwoord, is die volgende: Wat is die ANC se werklike posisie rondom private eiendomsreg? U mede-parlementslede in die ANC s vir my dat ons niks het om oor bekommerd te wees nie, maar aan die ander kant word regsinstrumente geskep wat op kragdadige wyse inbraak kan maak op private eiendomsreg. So ek vra: Sal die ware ANC asseblief opstaan en eerlik wees met die mense van hierdie land? Dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[These legislative brushstrokes paint a very dark picture of a country that presents itself as one with a modern economy, which has private property rights as its cornerstone. These legislative interventions are sending a very distinct signal to any outsider - which is that the ANC is in the process of implementing Julius Malema's policy, but they are merely doing it in a much more sophisticated manner.
The question I would like to pose to you, Minister, is the following, and you should please respond in an honest manner: What is the ANC's actual position on private property rights? Fellow parliamentarians in the ANC are of the opinion that we have nothing to be worried about, yet legal instruments are being created that could infringe on private property rights in a compelling manner. So I am asking: Will the real ANC please stand up and be honest with the people of this country? Thank you.]