RURAL DEVELOPMENT
AND LAND REFORM
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The implementation of rural development is expected to result
in vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and
food security for all. The essence of such a community would
be measured through the following:
• food security
• rapid and sustained economic growth
• intellectual development
• environmental sustainability
• healthy rural communities
• political maturity
• social stability and growth
• self-reliant and confident communities
• fairness in line with the Bill of Rights
• social cohesion.
With the introduction of government’s outcomes-based
approach, the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform has revised its 2010/13 Strategic Plan to take into
account the need to create vibrant, equitable and sustainable
rural communities, including food security. The outcome is
linked to five outputs, which are all pertinent to the depart-
ment’s work and which have been integrated into its
strategic goals. These are: sustainable agrarian reform with
a thriving small and large farming sector; improved access
to affordable and diverse food; improved rural services to
support sustainable livelihoods; rural job creation linked
to skills training and promoting economic livelihoods; and
an enabling institutional environment for sustainable and
improved growth.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform’s
strategy to achieve sustainable rural development is “agrarian
transformation”. It will focus on establishing rural business
initiatives, cooperatives, cultural initiatives, agro-industries
and rural settings; empowering rural people and communities
(especially women and the youth); and upgrading economic,
social, information and communications infrastructure, public
amenities and facilities in villages and small rural towns.
Comprehensive Rural Development
Programme (CRDP)
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform’s
purpose is to initiate, facilitate, coordinate and catalyse
the implementation of the CRDP that leads to sustainable
and vibrant rural communities. The key thrust of the CRDP
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In 2011, the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform, working with partners from the public and private
sectors, intervened in areas which had been hit by natural
disasters – lightning, flash floods and thunderstorms – by
providing emergency houses using steel and sandbag technolo-
gies, as well as accessories such as gel stoves, solar lights, solar
radios and lightning conductors.
These interventions go a long way in assisting affected house-
holds to recover and give government an opportunity to pilot new
ways to help vulnerable households.
Another challenge is access to clean, piped water for rural
communities. The department has revived existing boreholes and
drilled eight new ones in Limpopo. Elsewhere in the country, the
department, working with its national, provincial and local counter-
parts, facilitated the installation of 400 rainwater-harvesting tanks;
constructed a water reservoir in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal; drilled and
equipped boreholes; had a water reservoir under construction in
Disake, North West; and a 37-km water pipeline from the Orange
River to Riemvasmaak, Northern Cape, was nearing completion.
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framework is an integrated programme of rural development,
land reform and agrarian change, whose strategic focus is
social cohesion and development.
The CRDP is premised on three phases: Phase One,
which focuses on meeting basic human needs; Phase Two,
which has large-scale infrastructure development as driver;
and Phase Three, with the emergence of rural industrial and
credit financial sectors, which is driven by small-, medium-
and micro-enterprises and village markets.
By October 2011, the CRDP was being implemented at
65 sites across the country. Some 33 560 ha of agricultural
land had been acquired to provide emerging farmers with
access to land. Some 116 farms have been recapitalised
by providing funds for, among other things, infrastructure,
mechanisation, seeds, livestock and the transfer of skills by
commercial farmers to enhance the productivity of transferred
farms.
In each area where the CRDP is being implemented, a
new vibrancy has been created around working together,
involving communities, the three spheres of government and
the private sector. This has enabled communities to mobilise
resources from all sectors of government to enhance delivery.
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Key role players in the land-reform sector have set a goal that
all land-reform farms should be 100% productive and sustain-
able within the next three years.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
has set aside R3,3 billion for land reform, excluding the restitution
programme.
Of that amount, R2 billion had been earmarked for strategic
land acquisition of about 303 612 ha and R1,3 billion for making all
land-reform farms fully functional and 100% productive, through the
Recapitalisation and Development Programme. This is expected to
cover an additional 387 farms and revitalise 27 irrigation schemes,
which have already been identified across the country.
An inclusive CRDP stakeholder participation model has
been developed in the form of the Council of Stakeholders,
functioning as a partner in planning, implementation and
monitoring. Through this inclusive body, communities
themselves have become central to their own development.
Through the work undertaken at the CRDP sites, and in
conjunction with fellow departments at national, provincial and
local government level, the Department of Rural Development
and Land Reform erected infrastructure such as housing,
water, sanitation, pack-sheds, community halls, multipurpose
centres, fencing, early childhood development centres and
satellite police stations; and renovated schools and clinics.
The department initiated a new youth skills development
and employment programme, the National Rural Youth Service
Corps. The main goal is to develop a cadre of young community
paraprofessionals and artisans who will take responsibility for
the development of their own communities.
Four young people, of whom one must be a person with
a disability, are expected to be enlisted into the programme
from each of the 2 872 rural wards. At least 50% of these
must be women.
The contractual period, including the training period
is 24 months. This process will lead to the employment and
skilling of almost 12 000 youths, of whom almost 3 000 should
be youth with disabilities.
In its initial phase, it enlisted 7 958 young people between
18 and 35 years old, with a minimum educational standard
of Grade 10. They were drawn from rural wards across
the country, including farms, small rural towns and some
peri-urban areas.
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Of these, 600 have gone through 10 days of training in
self-orientation and life skills through further education and
training colleges and 500 have gone through two months of
non-military training, mainly character development, personal
discipline and patriotism. Each one receives a stipend of R60
a day, which will be increased as they receive high-level skills
training.
Land reform
The introduction of the CRDP, of which land reform is
an integral part, has necessitated that the approach be
overhauled and new strategies adopted. While achieving
equitable distribution of land remains a fundamental policy
of government, there is an even more urgent need to ensure
that land reform is measured not only through equity but also
through productivity, leading to enhanced food security for all,
job creation and skills training among beneficiaries.
In 2011, the Land Reform Programme had a target of
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283 592 ha for the acquisition of strategically located land and
a target of 504 farms was set for developing farms in distress
through recapitalisation and development. The programme
has transferred 322 844,9931 ha, equalling 288 projects and
provided access to land to 3 089 beneficiaries through either
leases or caretakership agreements. Of the total number
of delivered hectares, 276 396,6893 ha were registered in
the name of the State and the remaining 46 448,3038 ha
were transferred through Land Redistribution for Agricultural
Development to finalise the commitments the department
had at the time of the shift from grants-based land reform to
the Pro-Active Land Acquisition Strategy.
In August 2011, Cabinet received the Green Paper on Land
Reform, 2011 for public comment. The thrust of the Green
Paper is based on the view that:
A self-empowerment project initiated five years ago is improving
the lives of 600 women in Swayimane, a disadvantaged rural
community in KwaZulu-Natal. Through the Zimele (meaning
“I am self-reliant” in isiZulu) Self-Help and Savings Programme,
a non-profit organisation that seeks to improve the quality of life in
KwaZulu-Natal’s rural areas, the women were able to start small
businesses. They were able to save more than R170 000 over the
five years of the scheme’s existence. Together with loans amounting
to R292 932, the savings fund bankrolled the women’s enterprises
such as businesses in agriculture, crafts, retail and catering.
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• separate rural development and land reform be aligned
at policy programme and institutional levels to ensure
coordinated service delivery
• in pursuit of agrarian transformation, there is a link between
the land question and agriculture as the basis for the search
for an economic rationale and a vision of a post-reform
agrarian structure.
The demand for land may also be for other productive but
non-agricultural uses.
The change agenda pursued in the Green Paper is to
create a new trajectory for land reform. A set of proposals is
put forward, which attempts to break from the past without
significantly disrupting agricultural production and food
security, and to avoid redistributions that do not generate
livelihoods, employment and incomes.
The Green Paper focuses on seven key areas, namely:
• a vision for land reform
• principles underlying land reform
• current challenges and weaknesses: rationale for change
• an improved trajectory for land reform (including institutions
to support land reform)
• the strategic thrust for land reform
Indigenous people in South Africa have sustained their unique
world views and associated knowledge systems for millennia,
even while undergoing major social upheaval as a result of
forces beyond their control. Many of the core values, beliefs
and practices associated with those world views have survived and
are beginning to be recognised as having an adaptive integrity that
is as valid for today’s generations as it was for the past generations.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, through
the Chief Directorate: Technology, Research and Development, has
embarked on an awareness campaign on indigenous knowledge at
Comprehensive Rural Development Programme sites in the nine
provinces.
The awareness campaign primarily seeks to recognise, collect,
document, restore and exhibit indigenous knowledge systems (IKS),
to protect, preserve and promote their existence. The project also
intends to empower rural communities in ways through which they
can improve their socio-economic status using IKS, such as patent-
ing and commercialising their IKS products and instilling pride in
their use of IKS. The awareness workshops consist of traditional
activities such as music, dance, poetry and African cuisine.
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• land-reform experiences elsewhere
• challenges and constraints.
The department is working on a number of policy initiatives
over the medium term.
The Green Paper on Agrarian Transformation, Rural
Development and Land Reform had been gazetted by May
2011, followed by a White Paper that was expected to be
submitted to Cabinet in 2012.
The department is proposing a three-tiered system of land
ownership in South Africa. The three tiers will be:
• state land, which will be under leasehold
• private land, which will be held under freehold with limited
extent
• foreign ownership, with precarious tenure linked to produc-
tivity and partnership models with South African citizens.
Land redistribution
The land redistribution programme is largely implemented
through the Provision of Land and Assistance Act, 1993.
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By 2010, 5,9 million ha of land had been acquired through
redistribution and restitution.
The tenure issues of millions of South Africans living and
working on farms, and in communal areas and small rural
towns remain a challenge for government.
Recapitalisation and development
The Recapitalisation and Development Programme is
aimed at resuscitating all distressed land-reform projects
implemented since 1994. In 2010/11, the department had
planned to develop 504 farms in distress. It advertised 852
projects and 411 farms were selected for recapitalisation and
development. Irrigation systems were installed in Boschhoek,
Igalelo and at Nxamalala in Msinga in KwaZulu-Natal.
The department worked with its stakeholders towards
revitalising seven defunct irrigation schemes at an estimated
cost of R370 million. This project was expected to be
implemented in 2011/12. It is envisaged that this programme
will contribute a great deal to improving food security in the
country.
By August 2011, the Recapitalisation and Development
Programme had been implemented at 171 farms across the
country, creating at least 1 316 permanent jobs and 2 724
short-term employment opportunities.
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Land administration
The department aims to provide value-added public land
information and support services to clients and to ensure the
efficient administration of state land.
Land-rights management
The department aims to provide tenure security that
creates socio-economic opportunities for people on farms
and in communal areas to ensure vibrant and sustainable
communities characterised by social cohesion and
development.
Geospatial services, technology
development and disaster management
The department is responsible for the national control
survey network, the national mapping and aerial imagery
programmes and the provision of geospatial information
services.
Cadastral survey management
The Cadastral Survey Management Branch aims to provide
efficient cadastral survey-management services and cadastral
information services in support of land delivery and
development.
Deeds registration
The 10 deeds registries are located in Pretoria, Cape Town,
Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, Kimberley,
King William’s Town, Vryburg, Mthatha and Nelspruit. These
offices register deeds and documents relating to real rights
in more than eight million registered land parcels consisting
of township erven, farms, agricultural holdings, sectional title
units and sectional title exclusive-use areas in terms of the
Deeds Registries Act, 1937 and the Sectional Titles Act, 1986.
Deeds registration has progressively introduced e-Cadastre,
which is aimed at improving cadastral surveys management
and deeds registration as well as the consolidation of data
stores.
By 31 March 2011, a total of 904 928 deeds and documents
had been registered countrywide.
The e-Cadastre Project’s enterprise architecture investiga-
tion, which is aimed at consolidating cadastral surveys and
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deeds registration data stores, has been concluded. Digital
scanning of the microfilm records has commenced.
Commission on the Restitution of Land
Rights (CRLR)
The CRLR is a statutory body set up in terms of the Restitution
of Land Rights Act, 1994, as amended. The role of the
commission is to provide redress to victims of dispossession
of rights in land, as a result of racially discriminatory laws and
practices that took place after 19 June 1913.
The CRLR settled 457 claims between April 2010 and
March 2011, benefiting 13 310 households. Consequently,
124 507 260 ha were restored and the cost of land paid
amounted to over R800 million. The financial compensation
paid to beneficiaries was over R460 million.
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