Land redistribution and restitution efforts by the African National Congress government between 1994 and 2017/18 have covered 12,1 million hectares, an area far greater than commonly believed. This was confirmed by data provided by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, in reply to a question from Freedom Front leader, Dr Pieter Groenewald MP.
Groenewald had asked for detailed figures, by province, on the extent covered by five different modes of land restitution and redistribution up until the end of 2017/18: 1.) land restitution, 2.) the 36% of cases where land restitution beneficiaries opted for financial compensation rather than the restoration of a specific piece of land; 3.) land redistribution; 4.) tenancy reform; and 5.) the disposal of state-owned agricultural land.
In her answer Minister said that 3,5m hectares had been physically transferred to land restitution beneficiaries, while beneficiaries opted for financial compensation in areas comprising a further 2,9 million hectares. This means that government’s land restitution efforts have covered an area totalling 6,41 million hectares. Government acquired a further 4,9 million hectares as part of its land redistribution efforts, while land tenure reform covered a further 782 487 hectares, and state-owned agricultural land disposal 39 901 hectares. The total came to 12 139 044 hectares nationally. See Table 1. In terms of size this is an area greater than the extent of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga or the North West and just short of the extent of the Free State, Limpopo, or the Western Cape.
The 39 901 hectare figure for disposal of state-owned land between 1994 and 2004 may be a significant under-estimate. Figures provided in government documents in 2003 and 2004 state that several hundred thousand hectares of such land had been redistributed post 1994 (see here and here.) It is possible however that these hectares were included in one of the other modes (land redistribution), in this reply.
Up until early last year government has generally tended to disclose figures for only (physical) land restitution (1), and land redistribution (2) when it came to tallying up the extent of its ‘land reform’ efforts. These had amounted to 8,2 million hectares by March 2018, just under 50% less than the full extent as set out in these latest figures, according to an earlier parliamentary reply.
In February 2018 the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform released its 2017 State Land Audit report on “Private Land Ownership by Race, Gender and Nationality”. This revealed, it claimed, that “Whites own 26 663 144 ha or 72% of the total 37 031 283 ha farms and agricultural holdings by individual landowners; followed by Coloured at 5 371 383 ha or 15%, Indians at 2 031 790 ha or 5%, Africans at 1 314 873 ha or 4%, other at 1 271 562 ha or 3%, and co-owners at 425 537 ha or 1%.”