Tag: land reform

South Africa stands at the edge of a precipice. Almost thirty years after its first democratic election, poor policy and rampant corruption have left the country standing on the brink of becoming a failed state. In this thought-provoking book, the authors interview a diverse group of public intellectuals, business leaders and political mavericks to discuss tangible ways South Africa can rescue itself from itself

Historical land dispossession has handicapped South Africa’s economic development, particularly of small businesses and small-scale agriculture. This, combined with continued restrictions on subdivision, lack of secure title, and threats to constitutional property rights, impede rapid land reform and economic growth.

The year 2008 was a deadline set by President Mbeki for the finalisation of all land claims by people who were dispossessed under the apartheid and previous white governments. Although most experts agreed this was an impossible deadline, it did provide a significant political moment for reflection on the ANC government’s program of land restitution since the end of apartheid.

Who controls the land and minerals in the former Bantustans of South Africa - chiefs, the state or landholders? Disputes are taking place around the ownership of resources, decisions about their exploitation and who should benefit. With respect to all of these issues, the courts have become increasingly important.

Why has land reform been such a failure in South Africa? Will expropriation without compensation solve the problem? What can be done to get the land programme back on track? In his new book, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi tackles these questions, and more.

South Africa’s economic recovery relies to a large extent on creating a more enabling business environment and putting the right structural economic reforms in place. The country needs to prioritise those reforms that will deliver results both in the short and long term and put the ruling party’s tendency to revert to ideological thinking aside in the interests of rescuing the economy.

The land reform debate over the last few years in South Africa can at best be described as controversial, political and mostly emotional, more specifically so in the context of expropriation. From the outset, it should be noted that the current Expropriation Act, 1975 (the 1975 Act) is completely outdated and predates the Constitution and the South African expropriation laws were in dire need of being overhauled.

The land debate, as hackneyed as it is, is being used by both the EFF and the ANC as a proxy fix to whitewash various crises that face the poor black majority in the country. In this article I’ll examine four basic reasons why 'the land' by itself will neither restore dignity nor be a catalyst for the advancement for the poor black majority.

Two important developments have recently taken place on the ongoing land reform discussion front.

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in a statement last night (31 July 2018) that amendments will be made to the constitution to enable the expropriation of land without compensation.