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Confidential FINAL REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY PANEL ON LAND REFORM AND AGRICULTURE CONFIDENTIAL04 MAY 2019 FOR HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA CONFIDENTIAL Whereas His Excellency The President of South Africa, Mr Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, appointed the Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture on 18 September 2018 comprising: 4 Dr Vuyokazi (Vuyo) Mahlati (Chairperson) 4 Professor Ruth Hall 4 Professor Mohammad Karaan 4 Mr Dan Kriek 4 Ms Bulelwa Mabasa 4 Ms Thato Moagi 4 Ms Thandi Ngcobo 4 Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi 4 Mr Nic Serfontein 4 Mr Wandile Sihlobo I am honoured to present this report as a response to the Terms of Reference of the Panel from the Presidency, as well as an account of proceedings and relevant developments that took place towards the finalisation of the report. Sincerely yours, Dr Vuyo Mahlati, Chairperson CONFIDENTIAL Back row, L-R: Mohammad Karaan, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Thandi Ngcobo, Dan Kriek, Nic Serfontein, Ruth Hall; Front row, L-R: Thato Moagi, Deputy President David Mabuza, Vuyo Mahlati, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Bulelwa Mabasa Insert: Wandile Sihlobo FOREWORD “The vulnerability of farm dwellers and the increasing number of evictions even after the dawn of democracy is concerning to the Panel. The December 2018 Colloquium called for a moratorium on evictions”. Dr Vuyokazi Mahlati Chairperson The Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture Mr President, First and foremost we as the Advisory Panel on Land of land reform in South Africa can neither be taken Reform and Agriculture (the expert panel) would like lightly nor postponed. The people have voiced their to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity impatience and the inequalities are threatening to be of service to you, the Deputy President our peace and stability in our country. The incoming Time government and our beloved South Africa. We Magazine May 2019 cover titled: ‘The World’s Most believe that the decision by President Ramaphosa to Unequal Country’ displays a picture of the posh suburb appoint an Expert Panel was commendable as it was of Primrose in Ekurhuleni on one side and Makause timely and insightful to insist on independent scrutiny informal settlement on the other, highlighting the beyond the political processes and emotive discourse. extent of South Africa’s glaring inequality and spatial The Panel was given clear terms of reference that injustice. Whilst this is known, the concern is having referred to the Parliamentary Constitutional Review the supremacy of the South African Constitution that process and instructed us to consider the conditions is based on human dignity, freedom and equality, for Expropriation without Compensation (EWC). also deemed transformative, whilst having 25 years The brief extended to agriculture, rural and urban of democracy celebrations tainted by the reality and land reform including spatial transformation. Critical extent of stubborn and growing inequality. The Time was the Panel’s role in interacting with and advising Magazine picture could be Alexandra Township and the InterMinisterial Committee (IMC) on Land Sandton Suburb. It reflects the reality that the Report Reform chaired by the Deputy President, The Deputy expands on of 83% of urban/peri-urban dwellers who President’ office provided secretariat support. As Chair reside on 2% of the land. We know from experience, of IMC and our host Deputy President Mabuza always and as confirmed by research, that such circumstances emphasized the importance of our independence and are detrimental to Health and Survival, Crime, Social diversity of views. cohesion, family and social stability, political stability, with negative impact on the economy and environment. Mr President, this Panel Report is solutions-focused as Of relevance here is the centrality of land inequality to various diagnostic documents, reports and publications South Africa’s inequality. This, Mr President is what were thoroughly considered. It attempts to capture compelled the Panel to dig deeper into analyzing the the diverse voices during consultations, harvesting Constitutional, legislative and Institutional frameworks from the State’s research,CONFIDENTIAL policy and implementation that led to the present situation. reports, as well as intensive analysis of Constitutional jurisprudence, an in-depth historical research, As Panel members with diverse experiences and academic literature and international experiences. expertise, we grounded our approach within the Constitution, contextualising the land reform agenda Mr President the message the Report carries is loud within social justice, human development, and spatial and clear: the urgency and Constitutional imperative transformation objectives. The approach affirms iv The Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture restitution whilst identifying the gaps that need Report makes proposals on addressing these issues, to be addressed, with emphasis on strengthening including through public private collaborations. redistribution as a corrective measure critical for nation-building (unification). The latter is based on the Mr President, as the Panel we believe that our importance of acknowledging historical injustice and country has to face the reality that our colonial and deprivation. It recognizes the Constitutional Imperative apartheid past, as well as the current inequality- to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society perpetuating economic trajectory, has excluded based on democratic values, social justice, equality and many from the mainstream. The majority of South fundamental human rights. This process is critical and Africans are either asset-poor, or sit with unrecorded fundamental in leading and driving real change and or devalued assets, faced with information and credit also provides a solid foundation for state reform and market imperfections. The decisive action this Report nation building. The 25 years experience of slow land proposes can be summarized as follows: reform has shown us that tinkering does not work, and reconciliation efforts within an environment 1. Restore human dignity and social justice by of inequality, poverty and unemployment cannot enabling and resourcing restitution, redistribution bear fruits. The Panel therefore advocates for clarity and securing tenure in rural and peri-urban of vision and outcomes and a future where land areas. A mixed tenure model is proposed, ownership must approximate the demographic of the accommodating a continuum of rights from country informed by critical levers such as coherent, freehold and communal, as well as multilevel co-ordinated good governance, and capable and ownership arrangements. The Panel supports well-resourced institutions supported by skilled and the position that it is incorrect to view freehold capable officials who are focused and determined to systems of tenure and common property implement policies for the benefit of the people. systems as polar opposites of one another, and the assumption that freehold systems of A central component of inequality within land property are the only forms of tenure amenable inequality is insecurity of tenure that results in to capital investment growth. To this end the economic exclusion of the majority of South Africans, Panel has advised on an immediate process of particularly women and youth in rural and urban areas. recordal of rights in rural and per-urban areas South Africa currently has over 60% citizens whose with legislative amendments to accommodate land/property rights are not recorded nor registered. forms of collective ownership as currently only The 2012 World Bank Report on Agricultural Land freehold is accommodated by Registry. This Redistribution emphasizes the link between economic galvanised for the recommendation to establish efficiency and property rights of infinite duration Land Administration as the fourth pillar of Land that are fully tradable. This we have witnessed in our Reform (Restitution, Redistribution and Tenure dualistic economy, particularly agriculture primary being the other pillars). production and value chains mainly owned by white commercial farmers. Through collateralization of the 2. With the failure of “willing buyer willing seller” land with access to finance and established farmer method of compensation, we explored more support systems, this group of farmers have managed effective land acquisition methods, which include to be globally competitive boasting a trade balance a Proactive and Targeted commodity and area- of R42 billion and contributing significantly to the based approaches with production capacity country’s GDP. Sadly this has not been possible for informed by Agro ecological and land use black farmers whose contribution to commercial food analysis. This is aligned with proposed Beneficiary production remains quite small with underdeveloped Selection methods to address the rampant farmer support systems, productive land inaccessibility, corruption that characterized land acquisition insecure tenure, as well as problems of access to and allocation. finance and markets. 3. In response to emerging interest to donate land We have also CONFIDENTIALappreciated food insecurity and by Private owners and in recognition of the the economic exclusion of the landless and those potentially unifying role, the Panel has recognised whose communal rights are not recorded or legally the goodwill that land donations by Churches, recognised. Whilst we export food, back home we Mining Houses, Commercial Farmers etc.
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