CLPA 2025 - Address by the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Republic of South Africa

ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA 2025)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

11 November 2025

Theme: Land Governance, Justice and Reparations for Africans and Descendants of People of the African Diaspora

Topic: The Challenges and Opportunities of Land Reforms in South Africa

Programme Director

Your Excellencies

Honourable Ministers

Commissioners

Distinguished Delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

We are honoured to address this esteemed gathering of leaders, scholars and experts from the African continent and beyond, who have assembled here in Addis Ababa to deliberate upon and seek lasting solutions to one of the most important topics and phenomena of our time. In South Africa, the vision for our national programme of land reform and rural development, which is expressed in our democratic, post-apartheid Constitution, fully aligns with the African Union's Agenda 2063.

As a blueprint for Africa's transformation, Agenda 2063 calls for inclusive growth, sustainable development, and governance that is grounded in knowledge, innovation, and data. Land is the foundation of food security, social and sustainable economic development, and if managed equitably for the benefit of all citizens, it is the bedrock for social and political stability.

Through our land reform programmes were are also establishing the basis for addressing the scourges of poverty, inequality, unemployment and underdevelopment. Land reform also has a major contribution to make in promoting economic growth and the creation of generational wealth for numerous families, beyond providing the basis for sustainable livelihoods. Our task is therefore not to merely transfer soil and related physical factors through our land reform and rural development programmes; we also have the responsibility to actively restore dignity and promote prosperity. Land thus transcends the material surface, and it also embodies significant social and spiritual value.

The 1994 watershed democratic breakthrough in South Africa brought about a non-racial and democratic Constitution that entrenched land reform in its provisions which are contained in sections 25(5), 25(6) and 25 (7). Our Constitution thus sets a foundation that compels our State to introduce legislation and policies to address and bring redress for colonial and apartheid atrocities such as land dispossession and denial of land rights to the majority of citizens. It further compels the State to avail resources that will ensure that previously oppressed citizens gain equitable access to land and security of tenure.

Our legislation in the area of land reform provides for the designation and acquisition of land for redistribution purposes and for the settlement of persons on it. Additionally, the legislation provides for settlement planning, development, improvement and disposal of property, as well as the provision of financial and other forms of assistance for land reform purposes.

Similarly, in the sphere of tenure reform, we have legislation that provides for measures through State assistance whose main aims include facilitating long-term security of land tenure and acquisition of land for labour tenants, other farm dwellers and occupiers. This legislation also regulates the conditions of residence for such citizens on designated pieces of land. Other pieces of tenure legislation provide for the transfer of land to municipalities and other legal entities, and for the removal of restrictions on alienation of land, and for the conversion of informal land tenure rights to ownership. Labour tenancy is a unique phenomenon in South Africa where Africans who continued to reside on white-owned land after the dispossession process had been completed, were retained on relatively small patches of land on the farms of the new land owners in exchange for providing labour services.

In order to accelerate land reform and to address certain gaps that have been identified during the implementation process, our department is currently developing two additional key pieces of legislation. The first of these is the Equitable Access to Land Bill, whose main aim is to achieve the long-standing requirement that is provided for in terms of section 25(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa relating to equitable access to land. The second is the Communal Land Tenure and Administration Bill, which is being developed in compliance with the provisions of section 25 (6) of the Constitution with the aim of providing security of tenure to the approximately 16.5 million inhabitants of communal and adjacent areas.

Since 1994, our department has overseen the redistribution of 5.9 million hectares of land. Our Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy (BSLAP), which is currently under implementation, prioritises vulnerable groups such as women (who must constitute 50 per cent of the beneficiaries), youth (40 per cent) and persons with disabilities (10 per cent). During the period between 2019 and 2025, a total of 238 farms amounting to 362 000 hectares were allocated to various beneficiaries in terms of the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS).

The delivery track record under the Tenure Reform Programme has seen mixed results, as approximately 50 per cent of the labour tenant claims have been settled for tenure purposes through the implementation of legislation called the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act. With regard to urban tenure, we have made amendments to legislation called the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act (ULTRA) in order to provide, among others, for the conversion of land tenure rights in these areas, especially townships, to ownership, and for development and support on such land parcels. Numerous urban households that were denied freehold tenure during the apartheid system are having their tenure rights converted through the implementation of this legislation.

Programme Director, Your Excellencies

One of our flagship programmes, the Restitution Programme, is aimed at providing restitution in respect of land rights for persons and communities dispossessed of such rights after 19 June 1913, as a result of past racially discriminatory laws and practices. The relevant legislation, the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 22 of 1994, as amended, establishes the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR), whose main functions are to investigate and resolve claims primarily through negotiation and mediation. In those cases where a claim cannot be resolved through negotiation or mediation, it is referred to the Land Claims Court for adjudication.

Since the inception of the Restitution Programme in 1994, a total of 83 614 land claims have been settled, which amounts to approximately 80 per cent of the total number of valid claims that have been finalised. The budget allocated for the settlement of claims is normally split on a 50 : 50 basis between land restoration and financial compensation. Additional funding has been allocated to beneficiaries of land restitution for the purpose of providing them with development support.

Programme Director, Your Excellencies

As a country and as a department we are also in the fortunate position of having a strong geospatial information function that provides the necessary foundation for supporting the various aspects of our land reform programme. This function also serves all public and private institutions in our country with regard to spatial planning, land use, and surveying activities. It enables us to have a better informed understanding of where communities live, how land is used, and how resources can be managed responsibly.

The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) has, for more than a decade, led the development of a co-ordinated global system for governing geospatial data. South Africa currently serves as co-chair of this Committee, representing the African continent, with the other co-chairs being Saudi Arabia and the United States of America. Through this position, Africa contributes directly to shaping the global policies and standards that ensure that spatial information supports sustainable development.

During the Ninth Session of UN-GGIM: Africa, held in Cape Town in 2023, member states recommended that South Africa should spearhead the continental process of integrating geospatial governance into the core work of the African Union. That recommendation was endorsed at the Tenth Session, convened here in Addis Ababa in 2024, thus confirming a united continental mandate for South Africa to lead this effort. We reaffirm our country's readiness to fulfil this responsibility, which we view as both a privilege and a Pan African duty. Our goal in this area is to translate that mandate into action, working with the African Union Commission, AUDA-NEPAD, and the Regional Economic Communities, to ensure that geospatial governance becomes a formal and enduring component of the AU's and the continent's institutional architecture for evidence-based planning, data governance, and service delivery.

In South Africa, the modernization of land-administration systems is advancing steadily. The Electronic Deeds Registration System (eDRS), the National Spatial Data Observatory (NSDO), and the Integrated Rural Development Sector Strategy (IRDSS) reflect our national commitment to transparency, efficiency, and innovation in land governance. These initiatives integrate cadastral, spatial, and socio-economic data and reinforce co-ordination under our country's District Development Model (DDM), which promotes integrated planning across all spheres of government. They also embody the same principles that underpin Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) and the Framework for Effective Land Administration (FELA), which are alignment, inter-operability, and evidence-based decision-making. This institutional architecture will also assist AU member states in building the spatial infrastructures that underpin agriculture, infrastructure development, environmental management, climate resilience, and the strengthening of tenure reform and recognition of communal and customary rights.

Programme Director, Your Excellencies

Having highlighted the above issues, we must boldly accept that we still have a considerable amount to do in the area of land reform and related functional areas, and that our achievements so far have been modest. We therefore have the important task of addressing challenges and blind-spots seriously and urgently. The first of these is the need to recalibrate our programmes to ensure that they truly become both pro-poor and also promote support for emergent farmers and those who need land for urban-based commercial and economic undertakings on a needs-based and equitable manner.

The second area that we need to focus upon is the mobilisation of necessary resources. While we recognize the fact that land and agrarian reform function in a globally and nationally constrained fiscal environment, this cannot be an excuse for sitting back and doing nothing about it. Otherwise we should brace ourselves for a protracted period during which the realisation of the promise of our constitutions will be postponed indefinitely and the widespread poverty that afflicts the masses of our people will continue unabated. We therefore cannot over-emphasize the imperative of providing adequate investment in holistic land development funding.

Thus, in addition to the funds that we receive from the national budget, we must work hard in the area of promoting sustainable partnerships at the national and multilateral levels. We must thus actively and creatively explore additional sources of funding for land reform to supplement what is available in the national fiscus.

Another area in which improvements are required in our country is that, in addition to finalizing the land reform bills that are currently being developed, we must expeditiously formulate and implement new policies on land support packages and update our policies on beneficiary selection and land allocation. We need to be firm and sure-footed in ensuring that the provision of support becomes an integral aspect of all our land reform programmes and projects. The enhancement of pre- and post-settlement support for beneficiaries of all our land reform programmes is a sine qua non for the successful execution of our national mandate in this crucial area. We cannot simply ignore the critique that is often made, which highlights the collapse of a significant number of our projects as emanating from the fact that in many instances the beneficiaries of land transfers do not receive the necessary support.

We also need to strengthen the links that our land reform initiatives can have with rural development, which is a multi-sectoral undertaking that includes the provision of basic needs, rural industrialisation, infrastructure provision, and the promotion of opportunities for entrepreneurship. This is one of the most potent areas, alongside agrarian reform, where land reform can contribute immensely and significantly towards transforming the lives and livelihoods of our people for the better.

We must also resolve the issue of land tenure and administration, which we have alluded to, decisively and with increased speed, by finalising the drafting of the Communal Land Tenure and Administration Bill. Our country needs clarity and finality with regard to key issues such as the roles of various stakeholders on communal land, the institutional mechanisms and structures that should anchor the management of land rights, and the administration of the requisite processes. Most importantly, resolving these challenges will unlock developmental opportunities in the communal areas.

Another challenge that we face is to translate our land reform programmes beyond simply allocating land and hectares, into dynamic agrarian reform that plays a key role in the growth of our economy and development in general. We also need to foster stronger linkages between land reform and urban development processes, especially in the area of housing and in defeating the legacy of spatial apartheid, which relegated the black majority to living and social spaces that are far removed from the centres of commercial and industrial activity, and therefore from employment opportunities and decent lives.

We must also build a compelling case as well as institutional capacity for the demand for reparations. We are very encouraged by the fact that the subject of reparations has increasingly become a major focal point of the ongoing debates and efforts around land and development in Africa and the Diaspora. Reparation is a process of self-repair, healing and receiving compensation (restorative justice) for the loss and pain caused by former colonisers and oppressors. Land dispossession is a clear example of such excesses, and we cannot evade the reality that those who viciously took land away from our indigenous peoples have a responsibility to atone and pay for such excesses.

The first International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 - 2024) must serve as a mirror. Without reparatory justice, the decade of 2025 to 2034 will continue to marked by African stagnation. Reparation should talk to the material factors of land and economy. We must take note that the primary act of national reparation is the comprehensive restoration of land.

It is important that we take a leaf from the Caribbean Nations and their Nine Action Points. Through the African Union Commission, we must formulate a plan to seek financial compensation for land dispossession from the beneficiaries of our possession. We must expedite mechanisms that ensure economic sovereignty for all who were systematically denied it. Justice in South Africa demands the return of the land and financial compensation to fund that land return.

We thus also have the task of re-imagining institutions such as the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights so that their work is aligned with the direction towards reparations in the area of embedding psychosocial principles in land reform. This is not a so-called 'soft issue', as indeed a mindset change for our beneficiaries should be an integral part of our programmes, in order to support them to overcome past trauma and to mitigate conflicts.

In conclusion, we would like to re-iterate the points that we made at the Roundtable session earlier during this conference, the first of which is that we need to work together with our universities, research institutes and other multilateral institutions around the development of unique financing models. Other areas of collaboration include the development of training and capacity-building, policy research and data sharing models. We must also continue to provide and to strengthen the forums for constant debate and engagement, such as this conference.

While we welcome constructive criticism from experts and academic researchers, we also call upon them to continue making positive suggestions, contributions and commentaries on policy drafts and legislative drafting efforts. As the great Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah once said, "We must unite now or perish … Divided, Africa is weak; united it could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world … It is in our hands to join our strength, taking sustenance from our diversity, honouring our rich and varied traditions and culture but acting together for the protection and benefit of us all". We owe such unity of action to all the citizens of our countries who look upon us to provide leadership in resolving the challenges that they face, which pivot primarily around the issue of land.

I wish you all a productive and successful conference. I now declare the conference officially open.

I thank you.