The Politics of Land Reform in South Africa: Eye on Africa with Dr. Patricia Agupusi

Speaker: Dr. Patricia Agupusi, School of International Service American
University DC

Topic: The Politics of Land Reform in South Africa and
Challenges Ahead.

About the Talk:

Since the transition to democracy in 1994, land reform has been one of the most political socioeconomic structural challenges of post-apartheid South Africa. Land continues to be both economic and social capital needed to be integrated into the formal economic system. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the national challenges of food insecurity and unemployment in South Africa prompting an increase in expectations of land from the previously
disposed of groups.

The inequality of land distribution in South Africa is rooted in the 1913 Natives Land Act that
reserved almost 93 percent of the land for about 10 percent white population. At the end of apartheid, the white population owned over 90 percent of the land. Despite the constitutive reforms and various amendments since 1994, 72 percent of farms and agricultural holdings are owned by whites, who make up 8.2 percent of the population.

Black South Africans comprise 80.2 percent of the population own 4 percent of the land. This slow progress in land redistribution has made land reform top political rhetoric at every election circle and a national debate. The “willing-seller, willing-buyer” land redistribution policy of previous governments was seen as problematic and a major obstacle to the execution of land policy. Consequently, in 2018, the policy was eliminated by the ANC-led government and the parliament adopted the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) proposal of expropriation without compensation
(EWC). Despite the overwhelming support for land policy, there is an increasing debate and sharp divide on the implementation of the new EWC policy. This paper set to contribute to the ongoing debate by examining how the policy shift would contribute to the inclusive socio-economic development of the country. This research set to address some questions raise by this ongoing debate such as -To what extent would the current policy impact the socio-economic transformation, create jobs and reduce inequality in the coming decades? How would the current
land reform provide strategy to overcoming the dual economic structure of the country? Or is this politics as usual?