Restitution of land rights amendment act custom contested. The framework for land reform policy was set out in the white paper on south african land policy, released by the department of. South africa redistribution land redistribution agricultural. South africas land restitution challenge cornell law school. Thus, resolutions, proclamations and ordinances played a key role in legitimizing systematic land dispossession and segregating south africa. Second, there had also been some limited brainstorming among exile wings of the liberation. Stories that contribute to an understanding of the land expropriation in south africa. After the end of the south african war, the british and.
Land redistribution in south africa parliament of south. South africas land debate is clouded by misrepresentation. The landscape of the land restitution programme in south. The challenge of transformation and redistribution cape town. The most significant amendment to the restitution of land rights act of. 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.
Land restitution in south africa overview and lessons learned. A day after the natives land act of 19 was enacted in south africa, solomon plaatje 1995. Land claims and land restitution in south africa the year 2008 is the deadline set by president mbeki for the finalization of all. Diagnostic report on land reform in south africa parliament of. The constitution allows for expropriation of property for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to just and equitable compensation. The constitution the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996 act no. Restitution of land rights and a land claims court. Land, law and traditional leadership in south africa. Drawing on her experience as rural land claims commissioner in.
Between 1994 and 2011, land restitution in south africa was used to transfer more than 2. The legal basis for land restitution is provided by the 1993 interim constitution, section 257 of the 1996 constitution and the restitution of land rights act. Institute for poverty, land and agrarian studies, university of the western cape, south africa. In investigating the systemic challenges affecting the land. Key phrases south africa, constitution, bill of rights, property. Ruth hall, institute for poverty, land and agrarian studies, university of the western cape, private bag x17. These economic inequalities derive from the apartheid governments systematic transfer of land from black south africans to white south africans over the. The sixth part of the report provides a cursory overview of a series of studies that have been conducted to assess the outcomes of south africas land and agrarian. Diagnostic report on land reform in south africa land restitution. The most systematic land dispossession by the state came into effect after 19. Section two is a discussion of the basic components and procedures of the land restitution programme and focuses on the restitution of land rights act 22 of 1994, the commission for the restitution of land rights and the land claims court. We want whats ours is a detailed study of south africas attempts to rectify the deprivation of land suffered by thousands of people under the colonial and apartheid regimes.
Land reform and land restitution within that remains a highly charged issue in south africa, one that deserves more indepth analysis. South africa has reopened its land claims process, allowing people who were removed from their land under apartheid rule, but who missed an earlier deadline for lodging claims for compensation, to do. Pdf land restitution and reconciliation in south africa. In terms of official government policy, the south african restitution process is intended to. Land claims and land restitution in south africa, by cherryl walker. The act comes at a time when land reform and land distribution are failing. Pdf after independence, south africa embarked on a land reform programme that is meant to redress the highly inequitable land ownership. Restitution of land rigths amendment act, 2014, was seconded to the land claims court in terms of. Restitution means compensation, and is in this case referring to the process of giving back land. Second, there had also been some limited brainstorming among exile wings of the liberation movement, but this was restricted to a small handful of interested individuals who.
Human rights commission commission or sahrc on the systemic challenges affecting the land restitution process in south africa. The newlyelected south african government began in 1994 to make laws and implement a programme for land reform. An analysis of the impact of land redistribution projects. After the end of the south african war, the british and afrikaners began working on establishing the union of south africa, which was accomplished in may 1910.
In this thesis, we examine the south african restitution process through a field study conducted in south africa. Awakening on friday morning, june 20, 19, the south african native found himself, not. What is going wrong in south africas postapartheid land reform programme, and how can its failings be addressed. The volume comprises thematic overviews and detailed case studies in. Pdf the impact of land restitution and land reform on livelihoods. The south african constitution of 19931996 gave people and communities who had been dispossessed of land after 19 june 19 as a result of racially discriminatory laws or practices. Section two is a discussion of the basic components and procedures of the land restitution. A 10point plan to accelerate orderly land reform in south. But does the new restitution of land rights amendment act hereafter the act provide hope for solving these problems. South africa suffered a long history of colonization, racial domination and land dispossession that resulted in the bulk of the agricultural land being owned by a. The case studies illustrate the evolution of the interpretations of the legislation concerning land restitution valuations in south africa. The collective aim of land reform is to ensure the transfer of 30% of all agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged groups by 2014 dla. Whereas the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996 act no. Rights, development, and the restrained state article in canadian journal of african studies 383.
Put simply, the statistics, read coldly, tell a story of a 20year programme that has transformed the patterns of land ownership at a macro and. 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. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of. June 2016 download pdf more than two decades after the end of apartheid, land remains an emotive fault line in south africa.
The constitution and land restitution as part of the transitional arrangements to a new political dispensation in south africa, the interim constitution was introduced, succeeded by the present. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Seven facts about the restitution of land rights act the. The native land act of 19 fn4 apportioned 8% of the land area of south africa as reserves for the africans and excluded. Whereas the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1993 act no. This collection of articles explores the conflicted terrain of land claims and land restitution in postapartheid south africa. The constitution of the republic of south africa sets out the legal basis for land.
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