Draft land expropriation bill may be ready by mid-December

PARLIAMENT - A draft bill to amend section 25 of the Constitution to explicitly allow for the expropriation of land without compensation could be ready for gazetting before the end of the year, Parliament's House chairman Cedric Frolic said on Wednesday.

"We anticipate the draft bill will be ready by mid December...so that the public have the rest of Janaury to comment on the draft bill," Frolick said during a media briefing outlining several of Parliament's priorities over the next few months.

"Immediately after that closing date has been reached, the committee will meet to consider the public submissions made and then may have public hearings here in Parliament and outside of Parliament to consider views in the written submissions."

The National Assembly has set a deadline of March 31 for the ad hoc committee dealing with the amendment to complete its work.

African News Agency (ANA)