The Joint Constitutional Review Committee, set up to review Section 25 of the constitution in order for the state to expropriate land without compensation, has said it will embark on an extensive public participation process.
The committee was formed after a motion to expropriate land without compensation was passed with an overwhelming majority in Parliament's national assembly in February.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the review committee said it was instructed by the national assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to review section 25 of the constitution and other clauses where necessary, to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest without compensation, and to propose the necessary constitutional amendments.
The committee said to carry out its work it would engage in a public participation process to obtain the views of all stakeholders about the necessity and mechanisms for expropriating land without compensation.
The committee said the public process will be kick-started in April when it would publish adverts for oral and written submissions from the public.
"The public will have a month to respond after which the committee will visit three to four districts or local municipality per province for public hearings. The committee plans to split into two groups for the public hearings in order to cover a larger part of the country. The public hearings are proposed to commence on 8 May 2018 in Limpopo and the Northern Cape and is expected to be concluded on 22 June 2018 in the Western Cape."
The
committee has until 30 August this year to report to the national assembly and the NCOP.