Peter Setou highlights gaps in the land reform programme and calls for post-settlement support for land reform beneficiaries
Land reform in South Africa stands at a crossroads. The failures of the past are well-documented, but so too are the lessons learnt. The appointment of new leadership within the Government of National Unity (GNU) offers a critical opportunity to chart a new course for the country’s land reform programme–perhaps one that is rooted in institutional reform, capacity building, effective post-settlement support and sustainable economic inclusion.
While there has been significant focus on transferring land, less attention has been paid to what happens after the land has changed hands – post settlement. This has created a major gap in the country’s land reform programme, as the absence of adequate post-settlement support for land reform beneficiaries continues to put a strain on beneficiary communities.
Recent debates show that government continues to focus on legislative changes, including new bills aimed at enabling land expropriation without compensation. However, more laws will not accelerate the success of land reform. Instead, post-settlement support, capacity building, access to financial resources to enable communities to use land productively, skills development, and access to markets among other factors will contribute to a successful land reform programme, one in which the beneficiaries and their communities can truly reap the benefits of transferred land.
The real barriers to successful land reform are less about the law and more about weak implementation, poor governance, and lack of coordination, and one of the most significant weaknesses in the current land reform programme is the lack of post-settlement support for beneficiaries once land has been transferred.
Many beneficiaries continue to struggle with access to funding for inputs like seeds or equipment, lack of farming or business skills, a lack of access to markets, restrictive water rights, and poor infrastructure, including roads, water, and electricity.
Several reports, including the High-Level Panel Report (Motlanthe Report) and the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform, have identified key impediments to the slow progress of land reform. These include limited government capacity, corruption, elite capture, weak legislative frameworks, uncertainty around reform objectives, constrained budgets, and a lack of adequate post-settlement support.
Having worked with land reform beneficiaries since 2012, Vumelana is of the view that tailored and effective post-settlement support is essential to the long-term success of the programme.
The effectiveness of post-settlement support must be assessed to determine whether it translates into measurable benefits for claimant communities and contributes meaningfully to local economic development.
Although allocations for land reform have been declining, partly due to broader economic constraints, there is an urgent need to re-prioritise and ring-fence funding for land reform as a lever for inclusive growth and rural transformation.
Over the years, we have seen that Community Private Partnerships (CPPs) between land reform beneficiaries and private investors have played a crucial role in bridging some of the gaps in post-settlement. In a CPP agreement, land reform beneficiaries and private investors form mutually beneficial relationships to productively use land. Typically the communities bring their land and labour to the partnership and the private partner provides capital and skills.
CPPs are based on an assumption that the partners are unlikely to be equally capable of carrying the risk and that the balance of risks, resources and rewards must be negotiated in the context of the particular circumstances of each case. CPP agreements are structured to ensure that the partners can meet their obligations and exercise their rights in a manner that supports the profitable operation of the business venture into which they enter.
As private investors have access to markets, finance and the resources needed to productively use restituted land, these partnerships have enabled a number of beneficiary communities to put their land to productive use.
There are other mechanisms to support land reform beneficiary communities in putting their land to productive use, government needs to explore and scale these proven mechanisms.
Undoubtedly, the true measure of success in land reform lies not in the number of hectares transferred, but in the transformation of livelihoods, the sustainability of communities, and the ability of beneficiaries to derive meaningful value from the land, ultimately ensuring that land reform contributes to sustainable rural development and inclusive economic growth.
Peter Setou is the Chief Executive of the Vumelana Advisory Fund (Vumelana) a non-profit organisation that was established in 2012 to help communities in the land reform programme to put their land to productive use through its Community Private Partnership (CPP) model. Vumelana funds advisory services to structure commercially viable partnerships between communities and investors that create jobs, income, and skills. Vumelana aims to demonstrate the value of partnerships as a means of fostering productive use of restored land, providing linkages to finance, skills and networks needed to make effective use of land, and at the same time encourage a more inclusive agenda for land reform. For more information about the organisation, visit www.vumelana.org.za. To contribute to Vumelana’s work, email info@vumelana.org.za
