E~ EPISCOPAl. CHURCHPEOPLE for a fi;EE SOUTHERN AFi;ICA -t" 339 Lafayette Street. New York, N.Y. 10012·2725 vs (2, 2} 4n.0066 FAX: ( 212) 9 7 9 -l 0 13 A #166 15 September 1995 Transvaal Rural Action Committee April1995 The Transvaal Rural Action Comn.ittee- CTRAC1 was established in 1983 by Black Sash in response to the demand.~ ima.1. African conmunities for assistance in resist­ ing forced rem:>vals and incorporation into bantustans. Wcmen were the m:>st direct­ ly affected yet they were alm:>st always excluded from meetings Qr deliberations about strategy and struggle. TRAC is ncM a fully organized and articulate force in changing that m:>st ~ic element of South Africa - use of the land. Herewith are extracts fiXl1Il TRAC' s latest report: TRAC Mission Statement 't The Transvaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC) is a non-profit land NGO, working in rural parts ofthe northern provinces ofSouth Africa. Recognising the need to ri?dress past i~Vustices relating to land, we perform the following functioiiB: o providing information, advice anil technical · support to marginalised land-claiming anil landless groupings ~fmen and women, in their efforts to secure access to land through restitution and redistribution; o building strong, independent and democratically elected structures at a local and regional level in order to achieve the above; o lobbying, advocanng and campciigning for land reform and access to related resources; o ensuring that women's voices and interests are recognised and addressed. In all our work we maintain apeople-centred ' approach that strives towards a slistainable life on the land. .. 3. TRAC AND THE NEW a) Restitution GOVERNMENT The Restitution of Land Rights Act (no. 22 of 1994) provides for a Commission and a Court The change of government and the move to deal with the restitution of land that was lost towards democracy have resulted in fundamen­ in the implementation of apartheid policies. The tal changes in South Africa, and have made it Act allows for the presentation of both written necessary for NGOs to redefine the type of work and oral evidence, but is limited to historical done and the methods used. claims to particular pieces of land. However, despite the changes in central The Land Claims Commission is due to start government, administrative power has often functioning in May 1995. Communities will been left in the hands of old apartheid officials. submit their cases to the Commission, which . The Department of Land Affairs (DLA), for wiii gather information, propose solutions and ·example, consists largely of veterans from Piet negotiate settlements. The Commission, which Koomhof's Department of Co-operation and will have provincial structures, is responsible for Development, the defunct Department of Devel­ assisting communities to compile their evi­ opment Aid, and the old Bantu Administration dence. Claims which the Commission cannot Boards. This sometimes results in a serious gap resolve or which are very complex will be between government policy and delivery on the referred to the Land Claims Court. ground. The Court will consist of judges appointed 3.1 New Laws and policies affecting by the State President, and will have the power TRAC'swork to order the transfer of state land, or the expropriation or purchase of land which has There are a number of important new Jaws passed into private ownership.lt may alsn aw;ml ami government programmes that fundamen­ alternative land, compensation, or alternative tally affect TRAC's work. remedies depending on the circumstances. One of the shortcomings of the Land Claims * Northwest Province: the Botsalano Court and the Commission is that they will only area, including Ventersdorp, Lichten­ address claims to land which was lost after 1913; burg, and Groot Marico districts. the Act does not cater for communities who may (for example) have been ren:ioved in 1910. This The Pilot Programme emphasises regional, assumes that apartheid can be treated as a district and local control over the land reform distinct period of South African history, with a process rather than a top-down approach by clear beginning and ending. In fact it is part of a central government, but is dependent on close long (and ongoing) process of dispossession. co-operation between government departments at the local level. The Department of Agricul­ The Act makes it clear that all claims must ture, for example, v.ith its strong orientation be submitted according to the regulations that towards large-scale {white) commercial agricul­ govern the Act. At this stage, no regulations ture, becomes a key player in the provision of exist, which means that current claims may be agricultural extension services. Provincial gov­ rejected on the basis of some technicality. ernments in the former Transvaal have tried to maintain excessive control over the process, and There are indications that one of the main concerns have been raised regarding the availa­ reasons for the delay in publishing the regula­ bility of resources for areas which are not tions, may be that senior officials in the DLAare selected as Pilot Projects. trying to find ways to ensure that the Department maintains some control over the land-claims The Provision of Certain Land For Settle­ process. This must be resisted, since it would ment Act (no. 126 of 1993) gives communities seriously compromise the independence of the the opportunity to acquire rural land for mixed Commission and the Court. purposes (not strictly for agricultural or residen­ tial purposes). The Act allows the government A Bill of Rights is enshrined in the interim to pay up to 80% of the purchase price of rural constitution. Section 28 (3) addresses the ques­ land, in addition to the legal costs of transferring tion of compensation for private land which is the land. The community pay 20% of the land expropriated for purposes of restitution. Be­ price, of which 5% is paid up-front and the cause of the way in which such land was remaining 15% is made available in the form of obtained under apartheid, it is specifically stated a "soft" loan, to be paid off over the next five that current market value should not be the sole years. Alternatively, the state may pay a fixed factor determining compensation-value. How­ subsidy per household. The scheme allows ever this provision is currently being ignored communities to choose the land which they wish (e.g., in Batloung and Magogoane). This ques­ to obtain, but ensures that this is done through tion of the valuation ofland has_serious implica­ the market rather than through expropriation. A tions for the entire land reform process. number of rural communities are using this b) Redistribution scheme for gaining access to land. The Pilot Land Reform Programme is the There are, however, several problems which first phase of the government's redistribution need to be addressed. For example, some rural initiative. A total of R315,81 million has been communities (and some individuals within the allocated nationally for pilot projects in each of community) cannot afford to contribute to the the nine provinces. These projects will serve as initial 5% required, or the ensuing instalments. test sites for financing, service delivery, and This ensures that the poorest of the poor are still administration. In the first quarter of 1995, the denied access to land. following areas were identified as pilot projects: Also, because the "market price" of the land * Eastern Transvaal: parts of the former is not necessarily linked to any external criteria Lebowa homeland, centred around Gro­ (such as productive potential), it has proved blersdal, and extending south towards subject to manipulation by organised groups of Middelburg; white farmers (e.g., Welverdiend). Furthermore, because the Act takes no account of the way in * Northern Transvaal: the "white which "ownership" was obtained, it may serve finger" area, including Potgietersrus, as a way of enriching white farmers (with Pietersburg, Waterberg, and Soutpans­ tax-payers' money), rather than a way of redres­ berg magisterial districts; sing past injustices. The unequal distribution of land in South - health care; Africa is the result of centuries of dispossession, and to now make the redistribution process - social security and welfare. dependent on market principles simply serves to Although the RDP claims to be trying to re-inforce existing inequalities. address the problem of urban bias, it is severely The property rights clause of the bill of restricted in rural areas by the inadequacy of rights states that, while the state must protect local and regional administrative structures. people's rights in property, it can expropriate The Development Facilitation Bill is cur­ property for "public purposes". This is open to rently being debated by parliament When it is legal interpretation, although internationally it enacted, it is likely to have a significant effect has never been interpreted as including land for on the way in which development planning can redistribution. be integrated into the land-claiming process. c) Development d) Gender The Reconstruction and Development The Interim Constitution (Act no. 200 of Programme (RDP) aims to meet the basic 1993) contains a clause that makes gender needs of all South Africans in an integrated discrimination unconstitutional. Trust legisla­ manner, combining urban and rural develop­ tion, however, continues to discriminate against ment processes. The RDP identifies job creation women by stipulating that the chairperson of a and the provision of a number of basic needs as Trust must be a man. Inheritance Jaw also a priority. These include: discriminates against women, in that it does not - land reform; allow unmarried women to inherit land. - housing and services; This legislation is inconsistent with the constitution.l1 may be necessary to organise test -water and sanitation; cases to scrap the discriminatory clauses.