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IOL News
18-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Unpacking the challenges of land reform in South Africa: a 30-year struggle for success
'In addition, too little attention has been given to enabling the productive use of land,' Setou said. According to Peter Setou, CEO at the Vumelana Advisory Fund, this was due to a myriad of factors, like it being strangled by under-resourcing, budget constraints and poor delivery mechanisms. For decades, land reform in South Africa has not been as successful as it should be. The recent report of the Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development, on the 2025/26 Annual Performance Plans and the Budget of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development and its entities, reflected that South Africa is sitting on a slow-moving, underfunded and unsustainably structured land reform system. The country is said to need a robust conversation on how to address these challenges sustainably. The release of government-owned land remains ever more important in South Africa, says Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa(Agbiz). He said that, disappointingly, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has made limited progress on this matter despite this being one of the central aspects of the country's inclusive growth agenda. 'In essence, while we confront many present-day challenges, these long-term reforms of the AAMP and land release must continue for the sector to achieve its inclusive growth aspirations,' Sihlobo said earlier this week. Vumelana said the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has a land restitution budget of R3.7 billion in 2025/26, a nominal 5% increase from last year, but a real-terms decline of 1.12%. Meanwhile, the organisation said the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is expected to settle just 281 land claims this year, down from 288 in 2024/25, and to finalise only 277. 'At this rate, it will take 30 years to settle the estimated 5 719 outstanding claims, and that excludes the thousands of newer claims awaiting resolution after the 2014 lodgement window was reopened but later halted by the courts. "We therefore need to explore innovative ways of funding land reform, which will require a broader conversation and buy-in from all key stakeholders,' Vumelana said. According to the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights' Chief Land Claims Commissioner Nomfundo Ntloko, as of January 2024, the CRLR had a total of 5 985 old order backlog claims still outstanding, a significant portion of which needs to be processed and recommended for settlement within the implementation period of this plan. She said the current budgetary allocations, as has been indicated previously, remain regrettably insufficient to meet the desired upscaling of claims settlement to eliminate the remaining old order backlog in the short term. 'It is critical that there is additional funding for the land restitution programme. Part of this includes urgently exploring the possibility of ring-fencing the Commission's budget, which is currently included in the budget of DALRRD.' Setou said that more strikingly, the Commission is functioning at just 51.7% of its approved staff capacity, with only 680 posts out of 1 447 filled. He said these bottlenecks need to be reviewed and addressed if the country is to make meaningful progress. 'Arguably, to settle all outstanding old-order land claims alone would cost an estimated R129 billion, according to Project Kuyasa-far beyond the Commission's annual budget. "In contrast, the Agricultural Land Holding Account (ALHA), the key trading entity meant to fund land acquisition, will spend just R1.1 billion in 2025/26. That's a 22% nominal increase from last year, far short of the scale required.'
IOL News
14-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
The true value of land: it's not who owns it, but how it's used
The eThekwini Municipality intends to build a world-class Logistics Park in Clairwood, south of Durban. Clairwood was historically a residential area that has undergone significant industrial development. Image: File Land reform conversations should not be limited to who owns the land; they should also focus on how that land is used and whether it delivers meaningful benefits for the communities that fought to reclaim it. Peter Setou, the Chief Executive of Vumelana Advisory Fund, says far greater attention needs to be paid to what happens after land has been transferred. 'Thankfully, there is growing recognition that land reform cannot be viewed in isolation from broader economic development. When communities gain access to land, that is only the beginning. "The challenge and opportunity lie in ensuring that the land becomes a source of economic benefit, creates jobs, exposes communities to access markets and enables skills development,' Setou said. The non-profit organisation established to help communities in the land reform programme put their land to productive use said resolving the land question is not only morally and politically right but also an economic imperative in a country that has gained the reputation of being ranked the most unequal society in the world by the World Bank. It said with a staggering 41.9% of the local population swelling the ranks of the unemployed in the last quarter of last year, according to Stats SA's expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from seeking work. Setou said the increasingly uncertain geopolitical developments, the looming spectre of US-initiated debilitating trade wars, soaring tariffs and the possible termination of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which grants African nations duty-free access to the lucrative US market, adds credence not only for an accelerated land reform programme, but the deliberate enablement of rural economies and the empowerment of beneficiary communities. He said this would enable them to make their land productive to ensure that they can effectively participate in commercial agriculture, eco-tourism and other broader economic areas within the land value chain. 'The potential of land ownership to slam the brakes on the scourge of unemployment and deepening levels of poverty has been acknowledged by the National Development Plan (NDP), which envisaged agriculture as the sector that has the potential to create close to 1 million new jobs by 2030. "The attainment of this ambitious plan hinges on the implementation of tailored, post-settlement support programmes that can attract much-needed investment and on fostering skills transfer and development and ensuring financial sustainability of the land,' Setou said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The organisation said that whilst there has been criticism levelled at the pace of land reform, the pockets of achievement and progress made thus far prove that a successful land reform programme can be a catalyst for job creation and skills development. 'Through the partnerships we have facilitated between beneficiary communities and private sector investors, we have redefined the narrative of the land reform programme and provided a living testament of a resoundingly successful land reform outcome. "We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We already have a winning formula that we can build upon to leverage the land reform programme into a formidable initiative that can generate positive and far-reaching social and economic benefits for everyone,' Setou said. Meanwhile, last month, a Vodacom spokesperson told this publication that challenges they faced as mobile network operators (MNOs) in securing land for site builds are the lengthy period it takes to obtain approvals from municipalities. Secondly, they said power upgrades on existing infrastructure to support new technologies are a challenge due to the long lead time of six to eight months. 'In addition, the supplier's insufficient power capacity to meet the required specifications for implementing the 3-phase for our technologies is a big test for the business. Lastly, bylaws, public participation and environmental requirements can impact the site acquisition process. For example, it can take up to 18 months to obtain site approvals.' The company said its deep rural network acceleration programme is negatively affected by lengthy delays in site build approvals by municipalities and trusts that oversee communal land. It said that when these delays occur, they prolong their efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural areas. 'Critically, the delays with local authorities in approving applications further hold up economic development in these areas, as the deployment of tech infrastructure can transform societies for the better and be a catalyst for economic growth and the alleviation of poverty. "Our view is that the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) needs to be reviewed to cater for telecommunications network development,' Vodacom said. Independent Media Property
