: The outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) and the implementation of the nationwide lockdown may have deferred the land reform programme as the government focuses its attention on stepping up efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic. However, this should not be a lost opportunity for agrarian reform. The beneficiaries of the land reform programme should use the opportunity to get their Communal Property Associations (CPA’s) in order.

The impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the R270bn tourism sector has been devastating throughout the industry's value chain, however, there is an opportunity to speed up the recovery of the sector if government can speed up its very slow approval processes and put in place measures to ensure that land reform beneficiaries, especially in the tourism sector, have the much-needed technical and financial support.

2020 marked exactly 368 years since the displacement of indigenous people from their land following the colonisation of the country by the Dutch in 1652, and later the English and the Afrikaner nationalists.

South Africa continues to grapple with land reform challenges.

There is a growing body of evidence that shows that strategic partnerships and alternative funding models are necessary for a successful land reform programme that will stimulate the rural economy and extricate millions of people from the clutches of poverty. 

The commemoration of Youth Month in June and the 45th anniversary of the student uprising in 1976 have commenced with the release of the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2021. This shows an increase in unemployment in the first quarter of this year, particularly among the youth and black women.

Land Reform: In the backdrop of a sluggish economy that does not create enough jobs for a growing number of unemployed youth, government and the private sector need to work in concert to develop and implement strategies that are anchored around harnessing the land reform programme to generate employment opportunities.

The agricultural sector continues to play a pivotal role as the engine of economic growth in many African countries. It is the main source of livelihood and employment.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and a challenging economic environment which has resulted in budgetary cuts and re-allocation of resources to other priority areas, has impacted negatively on SA’s land reform programme, says the Vumelana Advisory Fund (Vumelana), a non-profit organisation that supports land reform beneficiaries.

The past year was a mixed bag for the land reform programme.

Partnerships have the greatest potential to propel the success of land reform and enable the creation of viable commercial agricultural and tourism related companies if such partnerships are facilitated in a mutually beneficial manner.

According to Peter Setou, chief executive of Vumelana Advisory Fund, there needs to be greater awareness among beneficiaries of the land reform programme of the laws and policies governing access to water.

Opinions vary on the shortcomings of the land reform programme in South Africa.

The Vumelana Advisory Fund, a non-profit organisation that works with land reform beneficiaries to make their land productive by facilitating partnerships between communities and investors has welcomed the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DRDLR)’s budget allocations.

The low level of governance and administrative capacity among land reform beneficiary Communal Property Institutions (CPIs) is a result of limited resources and the absence of incentives to drive compliance with legislative and other requirements for land reform beneficiaries.

Many beneficiaries of the land reform programme often misconceive that good corporate governance is a luxury exclusive to large corporate organisations and irrelevant in the administration of their assets. While this view is fundamentally incorrect it is somewhat understandable, given the impact of dispossession and limited understanding of commercial principles among many members of claimant communities.

In light of the reported widespread failure of farms allocated to beneficiary communities under the government land reform project, primarily due to the lack of post-settlement support, it has become evident that maintaining the productivity of the land necessitates financial and other forms of support including collaboration with other players such as the private sector in order to tap on their expertise.

Communal Property Associations (CPAs), the landholding institutions established by law to acquire and manage beneficiary land, often grapple with effective management of restored land. They are often marred by infighting, factionalism, patronage, and a lack of accountability, resulting in mismanagement of restored land and misappropriation of funds. This is mainly due to a lack of good governance to guide the effective running of their land enterprises. It is therefore imperative to professionalise the management of land by beneficiary communities in order to instil confidence and attract much-needed investment to the land enterprise.

The private sector possesses the necessary skills, markets, and access to finance to help claimant communities sustain and scale their operations on restituted land.

The creation of a new, standalone ministry to oversee the implementation of land reform and spearhead rural development may be the resolution needed to put emphasis on the land restitution and redistribution programme and give impetus to what is needed to expedite the resolution of the land question and drive a successful land reform programme.

– Ever since the land reform programme was initiated in 1994, the hopes of communities forcibly removed from their ancestral land have been dampened by the slow progress of land restitution and redistribution. Despite government efforts, it is clear that state resources alone are insufficient to address the complex issue of land reform in South Africa.

More than three decades after the advent of democracy, land reform remains one of South Africa’s most pressing and emotive challenges — a powerful symbol of the country’s painful history of dispossession, but also a critical lever for building a more inclusive and economically empowered future.