There was no need to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to enable land expropriation in the public interest, former President Kgalema Motlanthe said yesterday. Speaking at a dialogue about a mooted agricultural development agency, Motlanthe said: 'If property is not protected you destroy value, and if there's no value then you won't have an economy driving forward. People won't invest effort and resources in building assets. And if you think about it properly, if property is not protected by law, society as we understand it today, will disappear because the kind of anarchy and chaos that would ensue is difficult to imagine,' according to News24. Section 25 protects property and recognises the need for the restoration of rights to those who have been dispossessed, Motlanthe added. 'It recognises that the injustices of the past must be addressed and stipulates how it should happen with the confines of the law and the Constitution. Motlanthe said the 'land question' remains a source of deep national grievance for black South Africans, but added that the Constitution enables land reform and land restitution. If restitution and reform is undertaken without regard for the rights of property owners it will have disastrous consequences for the economy, he told the gathering of commercial farmers, emerging black commercial farmers, banks and representatives from various agriculture organisations.

A panel chaired by Motlanthe in 2015 said the Constitution was not the reason for the failure of land reform, but poor implementation of policy and a lack of urgency by government was. According to News24, he told the gathering that he hopes the sixth Parliament will reconsider the report after the fifth Parliament went 'on a detour' following the ANC's elective conference that resolved that the government implement a policy of expropriation without compensation. The panel found there is no need to amend the Constitution; Section 25 already makes provision for expropriation in the public interest and for the public good and takes into consideration factors to take into account when determining value.