AfriForum wants court to declare Ramaphosa's manner of signing Expropriation Bill into law unconstitutional
The lobby group says it’s clear that the president "obstinately pushed ahead" with the act despite valid concerns about certain provisions.
Picture: Thabiso Goba/EWN
PRETORIA - Lobby group AfriForum wants the Pretoria High Court to declare how President Cyril Ramaphosa went about signing the Expropriation Act unconstitutional.
The group, which has been critical of the act, filed papers with the court on Tuesday to challenge it.
The Expropriation Bill was signed in December, and the act was only published a month later.
In its papers, AfriForum has highlighted provisions in the Constitution that detail how members of the National Assembly have a right to approach the apex court should they believe that a certain act is unconstitutional.
They argue that the delay of a month between the time Ramaphosa signed the bill and when he published the act negated the right of those members of Parliament who would seek certainty from the constitutional court.
AfriForum points out that the composition of parliamentarians when the Expropriation Bill was first tabled in 2020 and when it was signed last year is vastly different, with what was a house with an overwhelming majority of African National Congress (ANC) members, now a mixed bag.
The group states that a third of parliamentarians were deprived of the right to approach the apex court.
The lobby group says it’s clear that the president "obstinately pushed ahead" with the act despite valid concerns about certain provisions.