CWAO IN THE NEWS

In April 2026, the Minister of Human Settlements released the Draft Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Amendment Bill of 2026. The main aim is to criminalise the occupation of land and buildings and make it easier for landowners and landlords to evict working class people.

The ANC, DA and landowners complain that there are too many occupations of land and buildings by the working class. They say that the existing PIE Act of 1998 makes it difficult and expensive to evict occupiers because landowners need a court order to evict. This new bill wants to remove protections against evictions and make occupation a crime.

The government has tried several times to weaken the eviction law. They tried to criminalise land occupation organising in 2006. Then in 2007, the KwaZulu-Natal government pushed through the KwaZulu-Natal Slum Elimination & Prevention of Re- Emergence of Slums Act, to increase the powers of municipalities to evict. However, the Constitutional Court rejected the parts of this Act that undermined the existing PIE Act. Through resistance, including legal challenges, these attempts were pushed back. However, this new PIE Amendment Bill of 2026 represents another attempt on the part of the capitalist class and the government to prevent and evict the working class who occupy land and buildings. It wants to protect the current concentration of land ownership by a small minority. To hide this attack, the Minister has presented the Bill as a law that targets criminal syndicates who sell occupied land.

Category: CAMPAIGN | SCRAP THE LABOUR AMENDMENT BILLS