Link to Atlas Project

Documents

Overview

The South African Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) has introduced the Regulations of Agricultural Landholdings Policy (RALHP) and accompanying Bill (RALHB) with the aim of reversing the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, and to ensure a “just and equitable” distribution of agricultural land among those who live in, and work, it. The proposed reforms seek to ensure progressive realisation of the objectives and principles enshrined in the Constitution, particularly section 25(5), (7) and (8) as well as Section 27, on equitable access to land by citizens and redress for those who lost tenure and land as well as local and household food security. The RLHB/RLHP stem from the 2011 Green Paper on Land Reform’s unitary and integrated 4-tier tenure system, particularly the tiers on Privately-owned land (freehold with limited extent) and Foreign-owned land (combination of freehold with limited extent).

To achieve land redistribution and racial redress RALHB requires and provides for the establishment and maintenance of a register of public and private agricultural land holdings. This needs to specify land location, quality, size, use, ownership by nationality, gender and race; declaration of present ownership and acquisition of private agricultural land; submission of information on public agricultural land; prohibition on the acquisition of agricultural land by a foreign person; and regulation of lease by foreign persons; determination of ceilings in respect of privately owned agricultural land; and redistribution of agricultural land. The Regulations of Agricultural Land Holdings Bill (RALHB) was published for public comments on the 17th of March, 2017 and closed on 17 May 2017. This Bill has attracted different reactions from different stakeholders and interest groups in the public. Further research to address public reactions or responses was also commissioned and is continuous.

For this purpose, UNDP would like to recruit an international expert who will be one of the International Support Team (IST) to assist the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) to develop an economic simulation model on land size and efficiencies.