The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is formulating an action plan to implement recommendations emanating from the National Land Tenure Summit of 4 to 6 September 2014.
More than 2 000 delegates met over three days in Johannesburg to deliberate on major challenges facing land tenure reform in South Africa. Delegates included academics, researchers, traditional leaders, NGO’s, national and international experts on Land tenure, members of communal property institutions, government officials, farmer organisations and Agribusiness.
Below are the recommendations put forward by the five commissions that will be implemented immediately within the frame work of 2014/15 Annual Performance and Operational Plan of the Department of Rural Development.
The five commissions of the National Land Tenure Summit deliberated on the following: Communal Land Tenure Policy, Communal Property Associations, Strengthening the Relative Rights of People living in commercial farming areas, Agricultural Land Holdings Policy and the Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act (TRANCRAA).
The following recommendations will be implemented from the Communal Land Tenure Policy commission:
- Clear distinctions and guidelines to be drawn on roles and responsibilities of Traditional Leadership versus Ward Councilors
- First right of refusal must be given to family members
- Need for clarification of the definition of use rights as well as other kinds of rights
- Strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation of land management systems
On the Communal Property Association commission the recommendations were:
- The community must decide on the type of governance structure whether it be Communal Property Association, Tribal Authority or Trust
- Separate Communal Property Associations governance structure from its investment and development structure;
- Provincial and District structures must provide monitoring and performance assessment to Communal Property Associations;
- The relationship of Communal Property Associations to the Integrated Development Plans and municipalities must be clarified;
- The Communal Property Associations Office must have National, Provincial and District Offices;
- There must be guidelines on how Communal Property Associations officials deal with concerned groups;
- There must be guidelines for Communal Property Associations groups to follow before their concerns can be considered; and
- The Communal Property Associations policy should clarify what happens when a member or head of household dies.
The following will be implemented on the Policy on Strengthening the Relative Rights of People working on Commercial Agricultural Land:
- A task team will be established that is inclusive of all key stakeholders to take the policy proposal for further consultation and refinement at local level including guidelines for the implantation of the policy before submission to cabinet and parliament;
- Establish a tripartite forum between government, land owners and farm dwellers and workers to address key issues on a regular basis;
- Increase access to legal aid for all affected farm dwellers and workers;
- Create whistle blowing lines to report unfair treatment at all levels for farm workers and dwellers; and
- Guidelines must be developed for the implementation of this policy.
On the Agricultural Land Holdings Policy Framework commission recommendations the following will be implemented:
- Adopt the Accelerated Land Reform Programme of the National Planning Commission that is proposed in Chapter Six of the National Development Plan;
- Incorporate the AgriBEE principles into the Accelerated Land Reform Programme;
- Establish District Land Reform Committees as proposed in Chapter Six of the National Development Plan to establish landholding ceilings and floors for agricultural landholdings using a variety of economic, social and environmental criteria;
- Develop clear terms of reference for the establishment and operation of the District Land Reform Committees;
- Strengthen the District Land Committee structure with best practice in the country and internationally regarding decentralisation and local multi-stakeholder participation powers and responsibilities;
- Extend and refine the financing model of the Accelerated Land Reform Programme for implementation to the communal areas;
- Develop criteria for the selection of the beneficiaries of the Accelerated Land Reform Programme;
- Develop a detailed farmer support program
- Address problems caused by land invasions;
- Develop a clear dispute resolution mechanism;
- Promote relations between investors, government and the communities
- Create a national structure to monitor and assess the performance of agricultural landholdings at provincial, district, and local levels; and
- Consider the legal and implementation implications of imposition of a moratorium of the acquisition of land by foreign nationals as an interim measure whilst legislation is being considered to prohibit foreign nationals owning land in the long term.
The following plan of action will be implemented on the Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act (TRANCRAA) commission recommendations:
- The retraction of Proclamation 154 in order to curtail the powers of Provinces and Municipalities over TRANCRAA land;
- The putting together a National Task Team to finalise the TRANCRAA process; and
- Declaration of all TRANCRAA areas as Comprehensive Rural Development Plan sites.
Other recommendations of the National Land Tenure Summit that are of a medium and long-term nature will be implemented later in the next financial year of 2015/16. These are recommendations that need an update of some of policies, legislation and institutional arrangements to enable implementation. These include the strengthening of relative rights and the issue of evictions.
There are also recommendations that require new or further consultation in the department and government and more broadly. These include proposals for a Land Rights Ombudsman, which requires further work both in policy and the creation of legislation; amendments to the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act to allow for the utilisation of this act whilst formalising communal land rights legislation have also been proposed.
The Department of Rural Development is encouraged by participation of all the delegates during the summit. The department will look at ways to build capacity to address the concerns raised by delegates on the level of support given to communities.
Full details of the summit and the recommendations can be found on the Department’s website.
Enquiries:
Linda Page
Cell: 083 460 4482/ 071 334 3479
