In July, there were media reports that some political players were clamouring for the reopening of the debate to amend the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation. The tragedy in all this is that proponents of this terrible idea keep repeating the same straw man argument that attempts to shift blame on the failure of land reform to the constitution.
For any progress to be made in resolving the land question in SA, some sections of the political class have to dispense with the fallacy that section 25 of the constitution is a barrier to land reform. It is simply not true. This clause, in its current form, makes sufficient provisions for just and equitable land reform to proceed.
However, no progress has been made in resolving the land reform conundrum because little to no effort has been made to come up with a rational and pragmatic approach that functions within the parameters of our constitution. Nowhere is this failure more pronounced than on communal land, where tenure insecurity has denied communities of their rights to property ownership.
Research evidence abounds corroborating the link between insecure tenure and the unrealised economic potential of communal land.
The rural tenure system holds the potential to unlock huge economic growth for rural development.
Instead of addressing this urgent national question, misguided individuals have instead chosen to stir up emotions on land to score cheap political points. Notwithstanding the default position to blame the constitution, land reform failure has been a consequence of policy lethargy over the years. The 2017 High-Level Panel Report, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, highlighted several reasons for this failure, including a lack of financial support for beneficiaries and widespread corruption.
About 17 million people live in rural areas of SA, occupying about 13% of the land. The current tenure system, governed by the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act (IPILRA), was introduced in 1996 as a temporary solution to secure the land rights of people living in the former Bantustans. However, IPILRA does not address the issue of land ownership for rural residents, who remain tenants on their own land.
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Communal land has potential to attract investments and development
Image: 123RF/LOES KIEBOOM
In July, there were media reports that some political players were clamouring for the reopening of the debate to amend the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation. The tragedy in all this is that proponents of this terrible idea keep repeating the same straw man argument that attempts to shift blame on the failure of land reform to the constitution.
For any progress to be made in resolving the land question in SA, some sections of the political class have to dispense with the fallacy that section 25 of the constitution is a barrier to land reform. It is simply not true. This clause, in its current form, makes sufficient provisions for just and equitable land reform to proceed.
However, no progress has been made in resolving the land reform conundrum because little to no effort has been made to come up with a rational and pragmatic approach that functions within the parameters of our constitution. Nowhere is this failure more pronounced than on communal land, where tenure insecurity has denied communities of their rights to property ownership.
Research evidence abounds corroborating the link between insecure tenure and the unrealised economic potential of communal land.
The rural tenure system holds the potential to unlock huge economic growth for rural development.
Instead of addressing this urgent national question, misguided individuals have instead chosen to stir up emotions on land to score cheap political points. Notwithstanding the default position to blame the constitution, land reform failure has been a consequence of policy lethargy over the years. The 2017 High-Level Panel Report, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, highlighted several reasons for this failure, including a lack of financial support for beneficiaries and widespread corruption.
About 17 million people live in rural areas of SA, occupying about 13% of the land. The current tenure system, governed by the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act (IPILRA), was introduced in 1996 as a temporary solution to secure the land rights of people living in the former Bantustans. However, IPILRA does not address the issue of land ownership for rural residents, who remain tenants on their own land.
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Instead of addressing these issues, we embarked on a futile exercise like the amendment of section 25. According to the department of land reform & rural development report, 5.3m hectares of land has been redistributed to more than 315,000 beneficiaries since 1994.
Nobody knows the status of this land and its beneficiaries now. While the argument for land ownership particularly for those who were dispossessed is valid, it’s also crucial to ensure that every piece of land is optimally used for food security and decent living conditions.
It is the responsibility of parliament to initiate a process that complies with this section 25(6) of the constitution. The government land administration and communal tenure consultation of 2022 produced 38 outcomes that serve as the foundation for policy development in this regard. However, we must take seriously the concerns of traditional leaders by clearly defining their role when the tenure system changes within their areas of jurisdiction.
The absence of secure tenure on communal land is an economic problem. When owned securely, land can be used to finance development, investment, and economic expansion.
The lack of secure tenure prevents many people who live on communal land from investing in infrastructure, using their land as collateral for loans, or developing their properties to enhance their quality of life.
According to Statista, the real estate market in SA is valued at about R20 trillion, with residential property accounting for about R15 trillion. Communal land has the same potential.
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