DURBAN, KWAZULU-NATAL — The Abahlali baseMjondolo movement has strongly condemned the proposed PIE Amendment Bill, warning that the new legislation effectively criminalizes poverty and threatens the housing rights of shack dwellers across South Africa.
Nationwide demonstrations have recently swept through provinces including KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga as the grassroots organization intensifies its resistance. While real estate professionals argue that tightening property laws is necessary to dismantle organized building-hijacking syndicates, the movement maintains that the draft legislation unfairly targets the working class and those fighting for land redistribution.
Thapelo Mohapi, the secretary-general of the movement, explained that the Department of Human Settlements introduced the amendments on April 16. He noted that the existing legal framework, rooted in Section 26(3) of the Constitution and the 1998 PIE Act, currently mandates that courts evaluate the socioeconomic circumstances of occupants—such as joblessness—before granting an eviction. This safeguard is designed to prevent arbitrary homelessness, but Mohapi argues the new changes would grant municipalities and private landlords the power to remove people at their own discretion.
Drawing sharp historical comparisons, the secretary-general likened the Government of National Unity’s push to the 1951 Prevention of Illegal Squatters Act. That apartheid-era law was specifically crafted to restrict Black urbanization, allowing city residency only for labor purposes. Mohapi warned that repealing progressive protections will force rural migrants, who lack local economic and educational opportunities, back into extreme poverty. He emphasized that cities have become prohibitively expensive, and demolishing the shelters of those seeking work is inherently anti-black and anti-poor.
A highly contested clause in the draft law proposes severe punishments, including a R2 million fine or a two-year prison sentence, for individuals found guilty of organizing, inciting, or allowing unauthorized land occupations. Mohapi described this as a direct attack on grassroots organizers. He pointed out that simply helping residents document their personal hardships or encouraging them to stand against unlawful demolitions could now classify an activist as an “inciter,” subjecting them to financially ruinous penalties and jail time.
Addressing the concerns of private property owners, Mohapi acknowledged the struggles of small-scale landlords, such as elderly pensioners dealing with non-paying backyard tenants, as well as ratepayers who feel informal settlements lower their property values. Instead of punitive evictions, he advocated for integrated, mixed-use urban planning. He highlighted a successful model in Sheffield Beach, Ballito, where prime real estate is being developed to include RDP homes, rental units, and backyard accommodations, ensuring the working class can live in the cities they help build.
The movement also tackled the government’s claims regarding “land mafias.” Mohapi confirmed that corrupt individuals are indeed exploiting the housing crisis by illegally selling land and profiting from shack rentals. He revealed that the organization possesses the identities of these syndicates and is eager to hand them over to authorities for prosecution. However, he stressed that punishing genuine activist groups is a misguided approach to the national housing backlog.
Concluding his remarks, Mohapi emphasized that sustainable solutions require the direct involvement of the communities affected. Following the submission of a formal memorandum to the Deputy Director-General in Durban, the movement is demanding comprehensive, multi-stakeholder dialogues. They urge the government to stop negotiating exclusively with private developers and ratepayer associations, insisting that the poorest citizens must have a seat at the table to prevent the passing of laws that further marginalize them.