The vexed issue of land reform, redistribution and ownership is both a matter of historical justice and contemporary stability. The PA does not wish to advocate for any policies that would impact on food security, rural jobs and economic growth, but the state must become a more active participant in the purchase of privately owned land, as prime farmland continues to be sold regularly, but primarily back into private hands.

 

The PA is clear on its position that farming and land ownership are not the same thing. These things have been incorrectly conflated in the debate on land redistribution, but obviously not all land can or should be used for farming just as not all farming land must be redistributed.

 

Currently, the government’s plan of transferring 30% of 82 million hectares presumed to be in the hands of white farmers has been acknowledged as a failure. Only 6.7 million hectares were transferred by early 2012 via redistribution and restitution.

 

The recent land audit also made it clear that there are still significant amounts of unallocated land. Marginal land can be used more proactively, for example. Those communities for whom an historical affinity with the land still exists should be given the opportunity to express that through sustainable, productive farming methods or simply land ownership without expectation.

 

In many cases, land claimants prefer to have their historical claim paid out in cash. While this has been ongoing, it does not change ownership patterns.

 

The PA is aware that globally the move has been towards urban living, and the focus should remain on building world-class modern cities for SA’s citizens. The future of the bulk of South Africa’s people remains in creating well-run, accessible cities and megacities with effective transport systems and access to modern facilities that allow human beings to express their full potential. In this respect, rural living continues to grow less attractive.

 

The PA will, however, strike a balance, and therefore the PA will undertake where it rules to allow the state to amass more state land through the open land market and through a yet-to-be-developed flat rate purchase system. 

 

Instead of reselling or donating appropriated state land to particular individuals or communities, the state will consider retaining ownership of its land in many cases and give people or businesses licences to use it in ways that contribute most effectively to the growth of the country as a whole or to satisfying a historical claim to be on or use the land.

 

A need has also been identified to more efficiently and fairly transfer title deeds of ownership to farm workers who have been living with their families for decades on the farms of commercial farm owners and who indeed have a rightful claim to the land they have been occupying. The PA wishes to extend benefits of the the state’s housing scheme to such families as well.

 

State land already in government control (a significant amount) can be used to start this process. Historical and restitutionary claims to land would advantage any person or community wishing to have access and use of such state land.

 

The PA will support programmes relating to land redistribution in order to speed up the land reform process in a coordinated manner. The PA will speed up the redistribution and the pending restitution matters and the red tape associated with the finalisation of these processes.

 

The state must draw up a fair payment system with flat rates across the board for key land that it has identified for reform (not necessarily all land, and key land will be described using very clear descriptors). If the state decides that certain areas of land need to be expropriated for state use, then the flat rate system of compensation will be used. Once the state identifies land, the nominal owner of such land will be compelled to accept the flat rate fee for the transaction. This policy has been adopted owing to the clear failure of the willing buyer-willing seller approach to land reform that has been the relatively unsuccessful approach of the ANC for all its time in power.