Land reform in South Africa : dismantling the historical legacy of the racially skewed land dispensation.

Abstract

In some parts of the African continent, colonialist left a long time ago but the legacy they left exist to this day. In one way or the other they ensured that their legacy lives on even beyond independence of the African people. This is the case also in Southern Africa and particularly in South Africa. The legacy of white settlers who came into the country in the early colonial days is still evident in the characteristics of the contemporary South African society. The racially skewed distribution of land started centuries ago and up until today, such disproportionate in land distribution has not been corrected. At the end of apartheid, the newly elected democratic government placed on top of its agenda the issue of addressing the land question. Land reform programme was drawn and deadlines for achieving certain goals were set. But since then, land reform has been slow and fallen short of its targets. Main contributors to the slow progress of land reform were the policies and mechanism with which the government seeks to implement the programme and achieve its objectives. There has been a plethora of laws enacted with the aim of improving the implementation of the land reform programme in South Africa, but progress has remained slow. Many questions and concerns have been raised as to whether land reform is necessary or not in a democratic South Africa. This thesis argues that land reform is indeed necessary if South Africa is interested in rectifying the injustices and the inequalities of past land distribution. The thesis also argues that a properly implemented land reform would not only bring justice but it will also help in the reduction of poverty which is rife in the South African society and particularly the rural poor. But both the latter and the former will be realizable if the society is aware and have a full understanding of the ever developing laws which guides land reform programme and the acquisition of land in general.