The document discusses land reform policy in South Africa. It outlines that under apartheid, 87% of land was owned by whites on 13% of the population. Land reform policy aims to address this historical inequality and ensure all South Africans can access land. The policy has three elements - land tenure reform, land redistribution, and land restitution. However, the land reform program has not fully achieved its objectives to date.

1. “Reconciliation means that those who have been on the underside of
history must see that there is a qualitative difference […]. I mean, what
is the point of having made this transition if the quality of life of these
people is not enhanced and improved? If not the vote is useless.”
(Tutu, 1999)
LAND REFORM POLICY
IN SOUTH AFRICA
ADETORO A. A.

2. O U T L I N E

3. INTRODUCTION
Dispossession and forced removal of African people under colonialism
and apartheid resulted not only in the physical separation of people
along racial lines, but also extreme land shortages and insecurity of
tenure for much of black population. With the transition to democracy,
expectations were high that an African National Congress (ANC)-led
government would effect a fundamental transformation of property
rights that would address the history of dispossession.
However, since 1994, whatever standard one applies, the land reform
programme has clearly not succeeded in achieving its objectives and
critical areas remain unaddressed.

4. BACKGROUND TO LAND REFORM POLICY
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Prior to the dismantling of apartheid legislation at the beginning of the 1990s, some
87% of South Africa's land resources were owned by (or reserved for) whites (12,6%
of the population). Land for black people was effectively limited to the remaining
13% of land in the former homelands, state-owned land under customary forms of
tenure. This land was very often agriculturally marginal due to its location, over-
cultivation and over-stocking, which arose from insecure tenure, overcrowding and
low investment in land improvement.
The underlying problem to be tackled was the unravelling of the preferential
treatment of white commercial farmers and the resulting imbalances that had
characterised apartheid, while ensuring that the economy functioned at a level that
would generate equitable growth and incomes.

5. The objectives of land reform policy includes;
To ensure that all South Africans, especially the poor, women, youth
have a reasonable opportunity to gain access to land ,
To ensure clearly defined property rights (fair, equitable and
accountable),
To enable secure forms of long-term land tenure for resident ,
To enhance effective land use planning and regulation systems
To promote the effective management of urban lands and rural
production.
WHAT ARE THE
OBJECTIVES OF LAND
REFORM POLICY?

6. LAND TENURE :
The land tenure reform is one of the three legs of the Land Reform Programme
(LRP) as described in the 1997 White Paper with the objectives of addressing the state
of land administration in the communal areas of the former homelands and coloured
reserves and to strengthen the security of tenure of farm dwellers living on
commercial farms. The Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act No. 31 of
1996 (IPILRA), is a short term measure to protect people with insecure tenure from
losing their rights to land.
LAND REDISTRIBUTION:
The land redistribution sub-programme aimed to address the divide between the 87%
of the land, dominated by white commercial farming, and the 13% in the former
‘homelands’ by way of diversifying the ownership structure of commercial farmland.
The programme was minimally successful, redistributing about 7% of land to the
landless poor, labour tenants, farm workers and emerging farmers productive for
uses, as to improve their livelihoods and quality of life as well as to stimulate growth
in the agricultural sector.
PROGRAMME ELEMENTS:RESHAPING THE FUTURE
OF LAND REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA.

7. LAND RESTITUTIION:
The land restitution sub-programme gave effect to the constitutional provision that
people unfairly dispossessed after the 1913 Land Act are entitled either to restitution
of that property or to compensation. The Restitution Land Rights Act 22 of 1994
established a Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) to solicit and
investigate claims for land restitution and to prepare them for settlement, and a Land
Claims Court to adjudicate claims and make orders on the form of restitution or
redress that should be provided to claimants.
RESHAPING THE FUTURE
OF LAND REFORM (cont.)

8. The White Paper on South African Land Policy (DLA, 1997) states that
the case for the government’s land reform policy is four-fold:
To redress the injustices of apartheid
To foster national reconciliation and stability
To underpin economic growth, and
To improve household welfare and alleviate poverty.
WHAT DOES THE WHITE PAPER
SAY?

9. REGION TOTAL CLAIMS SETTLED % SETTLED
E Cape 9 292 2 901 31.0%
F State/N Cape 4 715 814 17.2%
Kwazulu-Natal 14 808 419 2.8%
W Cape 11 938 3 866 32.4%
Gaut/N-West 15 843 3 979 25.1%
Mpumalanga 6 473 5 0.07%
N Province 5 809 330 5.7%
TOTAL 68 878 12 314 17.9%
SOURCE: DLA, June 2005
SETTLED CLAIMS BY REGION
Far fewer claims have been resolved in the provinces where rural claims are found in large
numbers- particularly Mpumalanga, Northern Province and KwaZulu-Natal- and which also
have the most high-quality agricultural land under claim.

10. Transformation can only be successful if all stakeholders understand
the costs and benefits of change and commit themselves to the process.
The starting point for a revised land reform programme must be to
revisit the fundamentals, specifically the overall goals of policy as well
as the mechanism that can be used to achieve them.
In order to achieve such transformation, a number of requirements
must be met. These includes a clear and coherent vision, political
support at the highest level, appropriate mechanisms for
implementation, sufficient funding, mutually-supportive linkages with
other relevant areas of policy and mobilisation of popular forces that
can design appropriate solutions and overcome resistance from vested
interest whether bureaucratic or private.
RECOMMENDATIONS

11. DANKIE!
THANKS!
MERCI!