Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04PRETORIA3107
2004-07-09 13:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pretoria
Cable title:  

LAND REFORM: SLOW BUT STEADY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Tags:  PGOV PREL SF ECON EAGR 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 003107 

SIPDIS

COMMERCE FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA/JDIEMOND
TREASURY FOR BRESNICK, LSTURM, AND AJEWEL
DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN AND WJACKSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL SF ECON EAGR
SUBJECT: LAND REFORM: SLOW BUT STEADY IN SOUTH AFRICA

REF: A. PRETORIA 6050


B. PRETORIA 5976

Classified By: DCM Gillian A. Milovanovic.
Reason: 1.5 (b,d).

/// SUMMARY ///

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 003107

SIPDIS

COMMERCE FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA/JDIEMOND
TREASURY FOR BRESNICK, LSTURM, AND AJEWEL
DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN AND WJACKSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL SF ECON EAGR
SUBJECT: LAND REFORM: SLOW BUT STEADY IN SOUTH AFRICA

REF: A. PRETORIA 6050


B. PRETORIA 5976

Classified By: DCM Gillian A. Milovanovic.
Reason: 1.5 (b,d).

/// SUMMARY ///


1. (C) The ANC's approach to land reform is based on respect
for private property, reliance on market mechanisms, and
tightly controlled public spending. Gains have been made in
land redistribution and restitution; however, SAG goals are
unlikely to be met without more funding. Land tenure reform
has seen the least progress and the SAG is revisiting tenure
legislation. Some critics claim that the South African
government's (SAG) land reform policy is too conservative and
should be completely transformed. Others endorse the
objectives but find fault with the process. Grassroots
pressure for the SAG to do more on the land front is weak.
Land does not rank highly as a critical issue to most South
Africans. Demand for land is often really a demand for
employment, housing, and income. End Summary.

/// STRUCTURED POLICY; TIGHT BUDGET ///


2. (C) The ANC's approach to land reform is based on respect
for private property, reliance on market mechanisms, and
tightly controlled public spending. The budget allocation
for land reform has consistently equated to less than one
percent of South Africa's total budget. South Africa's land
reform policy aims to address the inequity in land ownership
caused by colonialism and apartheid and to secure tenure
rights for vulnerable groups. The ANC instituted in 1994 a
land reform policy that seeks to achieve these goals through
a process of restitution, redistribution, and tenure reform.
Land restitution is designed to restore land or provide
alternative compensation to those dispossessed as a result of
racially discriminatory laws since 1913. Land redistribution
aims to broaden access to land for previously disadvantaged
communities. Tenure reform is designed to secure the rights
of people living under insecure arrangements on land owned by
others, including the state and private owners.


/// RESTITUTION UNLIKELY TO MEET 2005 TARGET ///


3. (C) South Africa's Department of Land Affairs (DLA) has
made notable gains in land restitution but is unlikely to
meet goals set by the government. The SAG said it would
settle all land claims by the end of 2005. Since 1994, DLA
has settled about 46,000 of 70,000 total urban and rural
claims. The outstanding claims, however, are predominantly
rural claims, which are more complicated to verify and
resolve than the urban claims. Urban claims, in most cases,
are settled with monetary compensation. The DLA expects to
settle all of the urban claims by the 2005 deadline but it is
unlikely that rural claims will be completed. The budget for
the fiscal year of approximately R1 billion falls well below
the R13 billion the DLA estimates it needs to settle all of
the remaining claims. The DLA contends that the Minister's
recently expanded authority to expropriate (with
compensation) will only be used in extreme cases and not as a
tool to "finish up" the task of resolving the remaining rural
restitution cases (Ref A).

/// REDISTRIBUTION STRAIGHT FORWARD, NEEDS MORE FUNDING ///


4. (C) The SAG, has committed to transferring thirty percent
(approximately 30 million hectares) of commercial
agricultural land to Black South Africans by 2015. South
Africa's land redistribution program operates on a
free-market basis. Aspiring landowners apply for land
through "Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development
(LRAD)" grants from the government. DLA acquires land for
redistribution through a willing-buyer, willing-seller
method. By mid-2003, the DLA had distributed 1.5 million
hectares of land. Despite its slow start (only 280,000
hectares were transferred between 1994 and 1997),DLA
officials are confident that they can achieve the 2015
redistribution goal, but also express concern about
inadequate resources. Some analysts believe that the
government will "inflate" data on land transferred by
including government-owned land that will be turned over to
land administration councils in communal areas.

/// TENURE REFORM LAGS BEHIND ///


5. (C) Land tenure reform has seen the least progress. The
SAG has been slow to develop, pass, and implement tenure
reform legislation. The recently passed Communal Land Rights
Bill (Ref B) took several years to develop and is still
awaiting approval from President Mbeki. Implementation of
the new legislation promises to be costly and difficult as
all of South Africa's "communal" areas are affected (a total
of 12-15 million rural people).


6. (C) Legislation aimed at providing security for farm
laborers has had very limited success. The DLA has failed to
implement the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and Labor
Tenants Act and these two pieces of legislation have had
minimal impact on increasing security for farm dwellers. The
DLA, recognizing its failure in this area, has decided to
revisit these laws with the view of strengthening them and
consolidating them into one Act. The process has been in
effect since early 2002 with no clear progress.

/// CRITICISMS OF SAG'S POLICY ///


7. (C) Groups who are highly critical of land reform policy
carry little weight in political circles and include a few
NGOs and the South African Communist Party. They claim that
the SAG's land reform policy is too conservative and should
be completely transformed. Groups such as the Landless
People's Movement (LPM) would like to see extensive
government intervention in land acquisition through
expropriation and widespread redistribution to the landless
poor.


8. (C) Some land organizations including the National Land
Committee (NLC) and the Program for Land and Agrarian Studies
(PLAAS) also find fault with the entire land reform process.
Their major criticism is that land reform is too slow and
will not result in meaningful economic gains for the
country's poor. They would like to see the SAG take a more
aggressive approach to transferring land and develop an
integrated approach to land reform that incorporates
government support mechanisms to help new landowners build
houses, develop infrastructure, and farm the land.

/// WEAK GRASSROOTS PRESSURE TO DO MORE ///


9. (C) Other criticisms range from the relatively small
number of restitution claims submitted before the deadline to
the lack of necessary funds to accomplish reform objectives.
While many of these concerns are legitimate, the SAG has not
indicated any significant shift in policy as a result. The
media is perhaps the SAG's biggest critic. Grassroots
pressure to do more is weak. Those most affected by inequity
of land distribution are spread out across geographical and
cultural communities and therefore lack a cohesive voice.
Even the LPM has had minimal impact on land policy. The LPM
gained some notoriety for organizing a march on the 2002
World Summit for Sustainable Development. However, the LPM
is loosely organized and is often portrayed by media and
others as a radical element that encourages criminal activity
(including land invasions). Support for the group and its
tactics is limited. As a result, the SAG does not feel an
overwhelming push to do more on the land front. Calls for
employment and poverty alleviation take precedence.

/// MISPERCEPTION THAT LAND EQUALS INCOME ///


10. (C) The SAG is aware that demand for land is often
actually a demand for income, employment, and housing.
Studies show that rural poor prefer jobs to land but often
turn to land as a last resort when they give up on formal
employment. The SAG is committed to meeting its land reform
goals, but its real focus is on creating economic development
for South Africa's poor. The ANC recognizes the importance
of integrating Black South Africans into the agricultural
sector but does not view land reform as a viable means to
improve the livelihoods of the majority of the country's
poor. The SAG knows that it must find the right balance of
restoring land to dispossessed Africans while remaining
focused on its major challenge: increasing growth and
creating jobs.

/// SAG COMMITTED TO LAND REFORM POLICY ///


11. (C) Recent surveys (Markinor and Afrobarometer) of the
general South African population indicate that land does not
rank highly as a critical issue. In the surveys, employment,
crime, poverty, health, and education topped the lists. Land
was cited as an important issue by less than 10% of those
polled. Even if economic development takes longer than the
ANC expects, a strategy to placate South Africans through a
radical change in land policy is highly unlikely. The SAG
values long-term sustainable growth for South Africa over
short-term ploys to win favor from its constituents.


12. (C) The SAG has demonstrated its commitment to a legally
protected land reform policy that recognizes the need to
change land ownership patterns while upholding the rights of
all property holders. Based on the magnitude of the
undertaking and the problem of limited resources, one should
not overemphasize the SAG's slow progress in reforming land
ownership. Significant gains have been made in recent years.
There is still a substantial amount of work to be done, and
plenty of criticism of the slow progress to date, but there
is no indication that the SAG intends to stray from its
approach or abandon its objectives.
HUME