PRA, FMF Fight to Protect Property Rights in South Africa
Jun 23, 2021
Read the full coalition letter here: https://bit.ly/3qh2MCG
Property Rights Alliance and the Free Market Foundation, in conjunction with 30 organizational partners around the globe, released a new coalition letter on Wednesday calling for the protection of property rights in South Africa.
“The Free Market Foundation (FMF), Property Rights Alliance (PRA), and its 30 international partners unequivocally oppose the amendment of the South African Constitution to allow for expropriation of property without compensation (EWC), or more aptly, confiscation,” the letter reads.
The South African government has proposed a policy supporting confiscation of private property. Currently this proposal only applies to fixed property, but it could easily set a precedent for the seizure of intellectual property as well. The policy would “exponentially increase the power of the state, make a mockery of the idea that each citizen is equal in the eyes of the law, and entrench the already endemic corruption that characterizes the civil service,” according to the letter.
The coalition partners strongly oppose the expropriation of property without compensation and express support for the citizens of South Africa who would be negatively affected by this rights violation.
“The people of South Africa should be supported not only by sympathetic organizations around the world, but also by the international community of nations. The world rejected authoritarianism in South Africa in the last century, and must do so again. Property rights are the backbone of any free society; removing property rights means removing the most important guarantee of freedom for each person. Property rights are the lighthouse of any democracy,” said Lorenzo Montanari, Executive Director of Property Rights Alliance.
“We thank the PRA and every one of the signatories to the letter for their solidarity with the people of South Africa, who by now have exhausted all avenues for reasonable discourse with government to get it to abandon this ill-fated policy,” said Chris Hattingh, Deputy Director of the Free Market Foundation in South Africa.
The right to private property is a human right that must be protected both within South Africa and around the world.
Read the full coalition letter here: https://bit.ly/3qh2MCG
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