(Bloomberg) -- The South African ruling party’s plans to amend the constitution to make it easier for the government to expropriate land without compensation fell apart after it failed to secure parliamentary approval.

A bill that proposed changing a section of the constitution dealing with property rights was backed by 58% of lawmakers in the National Assembly on Tuesday, short of the required two-thirds majority. The ruling African National Congress decided four years ago that the amendments were needed to tackle racially skewed land-ownership patterns stemming from apartheid and colonial rule.

While the rejection of the bill is good news for investors and banks, it will provide ammunition for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s detractors in the ANC, who accuse him of failing to abide by its resolutions. Party directives to nationalize the central bank and establish a state lender that were taken in 2017 have also not been implemented. 

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