An integrated programme of land redistribution and. South african land reform may allow for compensation, anc. In formulating its land reform policy, government has endeavoured to take account of the widely conflicting demands of the various stakeholders and the implications of any specific course of action on the land market and investment in south africa. Government will continue to accelerate the pace of land reform within the framework of the constitution of the republic of south africa, respective legislation and according to the rule of law. How land reform and rural development can help reduce. The ruling african national congress anc, supported, in part, by the economic freedom fighters eff, has openly announced its support of constitutional amendments to accelerate land reform as a. Abstract this paper itivestigates the south african land reform policy formulation process in the period 1993 to 2000.
The growing fight in south africa over land and identity. The land policy initiative is a joint programme of the tripartite consortium consisting of the african union commission auc, the african development bank afdb and united nations economic commission for africa eca. Nevertheless, it was the policy of the incoming government of the african national congress anc to effect land reform that would to a significant. The wide range of actors that shaped south african land policy include the former national party government, the world bank, the african. The paper argues that the logic of land reform as a whole needs to be rethought, rather than merely tinkering with details.
The native land act of 19 played a key role in the restriction of native people of south africa sa to occupy only % of the countrys land feinberg, 1993, louw, 20. The native land act of 19 fn4 apportioned 8% of the land area of south africa as reserves for the africans and. The framework for land reform policy was set out in the white paper on south african land policy in april 1997 department of land affairs, 1997. This chapter investigates the paradox of land reform programme and its quest to address challenges faced by the rural population in postapartheid south africa. South africas land debate is clouded by misrepresentation. Land available for use by africans was increased by 5% in 1936 fn5 bringing the total to % of the total area of south africa, although much of the land remained in the ownership of the state through the south african development trust supposedly held in trust for the african people. Za national land reform programme is the central and driving force of a. The implementation of this programme is challenged by some entrenched cultural practices such as patriarchy. This restriction resulted in huge differences in land holdings between people of european descent, who occupied on average 1600 ha per person and native people, who occupied only 1. Land tenure, or the ability to prove ownership and utilize property rights, is the type of land reform south africa needs. This is manifested in the lack of access to productive land. South africas land policy is based on three main pillars.
In promoting accelerated land reform, the ruling african national congress, recently resolved to propose a constitutional amendment that would. This status report looks at the state of land reform over the period 2005 to early 2008, with a particular focus on land redistribution. Perceptions regarding land reform debate, progress made and challenges encountered in. The historical context of land reform in south africa and early policies article pdf available august 2014 with 201 reads how we measure reads. Origins of policy as the transition from apartheid approached, there was a need to work out concrete. Volume 21, issue 9, september 1993, pages 14511475. Land reform is necessary in south africa, but that is about the only issue regarding land reform on which there is consensus. Gaining ground rights and property in south african land. The paper argues that the political process of policy formulation and the nature of subsequent policies are the results of the distribution of power within a given society, as well as globally. Land dispossession under white minority rule was achieved through racially discriminative legislation and violence. Will zimbabwes economic downfall be repeated in south africa. As described in key documents such as the white paper on south african land policy dla 1997, these programmes seek to be directly complementary to one another.
Now the south african government is discussing a similar law. South africa land seizures begin, economic decline accelerates. South african app connects job seekers with employment opportunities. South african land administration is dominated by a western theory of tenure rights, represented by the registered freehold title deed, by which a contract links a specific plot to a legal person. First, in the context of extreme inequality in landholding, particularly in a country with a relatively high rural p. Derek hanekom minister of land affairs table of contents foreword the land affairs white paper sets out the vision and implementation strategy for south africa s land policy. Land reform will continue to be one of south africas biggest problems south africa s youngsters are let down by a lousy education system south africa needs a broader choice of leadership options. Zimbabwe, on one side of the spectrum, is facing a crisis in democratisation due to its radical approach to land reform. The three key elements of south africas comprehensive land reform programme.
Godongwana said the landreform debate wasnt the primary reason for the agricultural industry contracting 29. Land policies associated with apartheid shaped the most basic areas of life for all south africans. When we start unpacking why land reform is necessary, some people say it is because the majority of south africans were disenfranchised and disempowered through years of colonial conquest, segregation and apartheid. Land reform in south africa is a moral, social and economic imperative. The national party land reform in south africa began in. Tenure rights recognition in south african land reform. Also, some of the beneficiaries have indicated that the policy of allocating land to them on a 99year leasehold basis is an impediment to investment in the land, and that they would prefer to be given full ownership. African land reform 701 the dismantling of apartheid. Land reform will continue to be one of south africas biggest problems south africas youngsters are let down by a lousy education system south africa needs a broader choice of leadership options. The post apartheid government developed a land reform programme which focused on three important areas. Land reform in south africa is the promise of land restitution to empower farm workers who now have the opportunity to become farmers and reduce inequality. This paper is an analysis of papers, reports and legislation that deals with land reform in south africa. An agricultural law research article land reform for post. Land reforms proposed by south africas president and ruling anc party have come under questioning by the white minority,who happen to own most.
The white paper on south african land policy of 1997 favoured a marketbased approach, in which the concept of willing buyer, willing sellerwhich depended on voluntary market transactions, had become the cornerstone of policy. This section ends with an assessment of the national land reform pilot programme, which aimed to test the policies that emerged from the process above. The failure of land reform in south africa by iqra qalam and joshua lumet 6 december 2012 almost two decades after the end of apartheid in south africa, the. Fight rages over land reform in south africa forbes. Soon after the first election of 1994, an ambitious policy of land reform began to be implemented. Land policy proposals south african history online. Land reform policy development urgently needs to come to terms with the huge land, settlement and livelihood needs and potential opportunities within periurban and urban including nonmetropolitan areas, where the bulk of south africas population now. In south africa, tenure reform is a component of a national land reform programme which also embraces the restitution of land, to people dispossessed by racially discriminatory laws or practices, and land redistribution to the poor. In each of these countries the process of land reform is incomplete. The historical context of land reform in south africa and. President donald trump touched off a diplomatic row with south africa by repeating an erroneous broadcast about land reform there.
Why land reform is a key issue in south african elections. Land reform land reform will continue to be one of south. It also relates to restitution in the form of settling land claims of people who were forcefully removed from. Rights and property in south african land reform examines how land reform policy and practice in postapartheid south africa have been produced and contested set in the province of mpumalanga, the book gives an ethnographic account of local initiatives and conflicts, showing how the poorest sectors of the landless have defied the south african states.
What is going wrong in south africas postapartheid land reform programme, and. Land redistribution in south africa parliament of south. Development and land reform, the land purchase grants slag, lrad and others were discontinued and state land purchase became the only form of land redistribution. Land reform is probably one of the most difficult domestic policy issues to be dealt with by zimbabwe, namibia, south africa and australia. Land reform policy discussion document south african. Land reform will continue to be one of south africas. Part 1 a government proposal sparks racial tensions between white and black south africans, suggesting the. South africas national policy framework for womens.
Pdf the historical context of land reform in south africa and. While land reform is major priority in undoing the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, a smash and grab policy will be detrimental to the south african economy. South africa has embarked on an aggressive land reform and land reclamation programme. The analysis shows that land reform in south africa is slow, mainly due to. Land grabbing over nearly 350 years of south african history saw the loss of key. The most systematic land dispossession by the state came into effect after 19. South african land reform has been held back by weak social tenure rights, which land reform has reproduced.
It is believed to allow previously unemployed people to participate in the economy and better the countrys economic growth. Redistributive land reform in southern africa overseas. That south africa is not primarily an agrarian society, or in order to contextualise the demand for land, thus classifying the purpose and character of prospective. Pdf the historical context of land reform in south. More than two decades after the end of apartheid in south africa, the unequal distribution of land remains. Why land reform is a key issue in the upcoming election. A 5050 framework that shares out land while also ending the ability to make historical claims on particular properties, may offer south africa a way forward that, while still.
African land policy centre united nations economic. Zimbabwe, on one side of the spectrum, is facing a crisis in. The experiences of zimbabwe and namibia provide examples that the south african authorities can draw upon as they formulate their new land reform policies. Proposals to revise the white paper have been under discussion for many years, and culminated in the release of a. Despite this, africa suffers from the highest poverty rate in the world with nearly 47. Read why land seizures are back in the news in south africa. The need for the current land reform programme arose from the racially discriminatory laws and practices which were in place for the largest part of the twentieth century, especially those related to land ownership. The three key elements of the land reform programme restitution, redistribution and tenure reform.
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