WHAT IS THE LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA?

The Current State of Land Tenure

The post-apartheid government has made efforts to address historical land dispossession and promote land reform. However, progress has been slow, and the land tenure system remains highly unequal and fragmented. According to the 2018 National Land Audit, white South Africans own over 70% of the country’s agricultural land, while black South Africans own only 4%.

The government’s land reform policies include land restitution, land redistribution, and tenure reform. Land restitution aims to return land to people who were forcibly removed from it under apartheid, while land redistribution aims to acquire and redistribute land to previously disadvantaged individuals and communities. Tenure reform aims to secure tenure for people living on communal land, often in rural areas.

Prospects for the Future

The government has acknowledged the need to accelerate land reform and has proposed a range of policy reforms to address some of the challenges faced by the current land tenure system. These include amending the constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation in certain circumstances and creating a Land and Agrarian Reform Agency to coordinate land reform efforts.

The prospects for the future of land tenure remains uncertain, and it is clear that challenges will need to be addressed if the country is to achieve a more equitable and sustainable land tenure system.