Land reform’s future depends on sustainable partnerships, not on policy pronouncements and paternalism, writes Peter Setou
While there has been progress in transferring land as part of the land reform programme over the past three decades, the outcomes on the ground tell a far more complex story. Across South Africa, too much of the land transferred through the programme remains underutilised, with significant amounts lying fallow or operating below their productive potential.
This persistent underperformance points to a deeper structural challenge. The central issue is no longer only about how much land has been transferred through restitution and redistribution, but what happens after transfer. Without sustained post-settlement support, meaningful capacity building and access to markets, beneficiaries are left without the tools required to turn their land into a productive asset.
Implementation remains a challenge, with land reform, in many instances, being driven through a top-down, state-led model that treats communities as recipients rather than active participants in the economy. This paternalistic orientation has prioritised transfer, without placing equal emphasis on sustainability and post-settlement needs, among others, including post settlement support, governance and long-term productivity and profitability of the land transferred.
As a result, a significant proportion of restituted land remains underutilised, because of systemic shortcomings within the programme. Weak post-settlement support, limited access to finance, inadequate infrastructure and persistent governance and coordination challenges within Communal Property Associations (CPAs) continue to constrain positive outcomes.
These structural gaps are also reflected in the choices beneficiaries are making. Increasingly, claimants have opted for financial compensation instead of land restoration, although there seems to be a change towards accepting land restoration lately, primarily driven by government. This should not be interpreted as a rejection of land, but rather as a rational response to often peculiar circumstances beneficiaries find themselves in, including a response to a system that has not prioritised post settlement support to enable communities to generate an income from transferred land. Land without water use rights, infrastructure, technical support, capacity building and secure tenure is difficult to sustain and even harder to leverage as an economic asset.
Government has, over time, expanded its regulatory and policy framework in efforts to accelerate the land reform programme. Programmes such as the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) have enabled the transfer of millions of hectares of land. More recently, the signing of the Expropriation Act, 2024 by President Cyril Ramaphosa has introduced an additional mechanism to enable expropriation in instances where it is deemed just and equitable, including cases where the land is, or when it serves the public interest.
Yet, despite these interventions, the gap between policy intent and on-the-ground outcomes remains evident.
The fundamental constraint facing South Africa’s land reform programme remains the limited effectiveness of implementation. In practice, a meaningful portion of transferred land remains locked within tenure arrangements that continue to constrain its productive use. Under models such as the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS), land is often held under state leasehold, limiting beneficiaries’ ability to leverage their land to access finance or attract investment.
Without secure tenure, clear rights and bankable ownership structures, land cannot function as a fully productive economic asset. Within the PLAS framework, regulatory reform has focused on accelerating transfer, while insufficient attention has been given to enabling productivity.
If land reform is to move beyond transfer and towards transformation, a fundamental shift in approach is required.
A partnership-driven model offers a more sustainable path forward, particularly in the light of limited government resources. By bringing together government, the private sector and beneficiary communities, partnerships create the conditions necessary for land to become productive. They enable the integration of land, capital, skills and market access.
Where such partnerships are effectively structured, the results are clear. Through the Community Private Partnership (CPP) model, The Vumelana Advisory Fund has facilitated partnerships between communities and investors, with partnerships unlocking the productive potential of restituted land while ensuring that communities retain ownership.
There are clear examples of what is possible. Partnerships such as the Moletele Community Property Association (CPA) in Limpopo, the Mkambati development in the Eastern Cape, and the Barokologadi CPA in the North West demonstrate that, with the right support, restituted land can generate income, create jobs and contribute to local economic development.
Since 2012, these partnerships have attracted more than R1 billion in private investment and benefited over 16 000 households. However, these successes remain limited in scale relative to the broader programme.
Closing this gap requires a renewed focus on the fundamentals. Strengthening governance within CPAs, capacity building for land reform beneficiaries should be prioritised, improving access to finance, investing in infrastructure and expanding transaction advisory support are all critical components of a more effective land reform programme.
Ultimately, the success of land reform will not be measured by hectares transferred, but by the extent to which that land is used productively to support livelihoods, create employment and drive rural economic development. To achieve this, the country’s land reform programme should move from a paternalism to a partnership driven model that is mutually beneficial to both communities and private investors.
With the right support, scaling of a partnership driven model, land reform can still fulfil its promise and serve as a powerful driver of 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
