Land dispossession of African people during the colonial and apartheid period created disparities in land ownership and control. This resulted in the concentration of land in few hands compared to a large majority with marginal tenure and landlessness. The overall goal of the South African land reform programme is to redistribute land and rights to land and economic benefits of land to disadvantaged sections of society. The programme is implemented under three components: restitution, redistribution and tenure reform.

SDC's support is to contribute to redressing the injustices of the past in this area. It supports South Africa's land reform policies, which aim at transforming the patterns of land ownership and tenure systems.  Since 1996, SDC's strategic focus in South African land issues has been to support government and non-governmental bodies in implementing various components of the land programme. This has been done through strengthening of institutional capacities and skills for land reform implementation, contributing to the empowerment of rural communities and promoting women's rights to own land and their participation in land reform processes and to promote equity with regard to access and ownership.

Our programme:

The key focus of the SDC's programme in the land sector is on improving access to land, securing land rights and supporting programmes that develop livelihood opportunities. Therefore, the major part of the support is directed mainly at two programme areas: Land Tenure Reform and Restitution.

On the government side, SDC is supported the Department of Land Affairs in the development of policy on tenure security in the former homeland areas, the Communal Land Rights Bill (CLRB). The Communal Land Rights Bill impacts on 13 million people residing in former homeland areas has now been passed as law in February 2004. It will become a significant feature of the land reform programme of government and most non- governmental organisations in the coming few years. Support in this area includes research and policy development, training on and development of procedures on the application of the new legislation and pilot tests by NGOs in a few selected areas.

On the NGO side, SDC supports organisations such as the Border Rural Committee (BRC) implementing restitution, livelihood and tenure security programmes, the Southern Cape Land Committee Trust (SCLCT) implementing farm- dweller projects, restitution, redistribution and livelihoods programmes. The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) undertakes research, develops manual on land legal issues and trains, the Surplus Peoples Project (SPP) works on redistribution, emerging farmers, commonage and restitution programmes, the KwaZulu-Natal Land Legal Cluster provides advice, training on land legal issues, legal representation to evicted farmdwellers and the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA) works on security of tenure for farmworkers and communities, livelihood and restitution programmes.

Our Partners