AVOID A RESTITUTION DEBACLE

Agri SA has noted with concern the media reports on possible reopening of the land claims process. In the past there had often been calls to this effect, but the government consistently decided against it because such an arrangement would be unaffordable and unmanageable. Reports that this is again being considered gave rise to new uncertainty in agriculture, which has been seriously hampered by the lingering land claims process over the past 17 years (see Business Day report).

The Commission for the Restoration of Land Rights and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has since 1999 been unable to develop the capacity to administer land claims in an effective manner, plunging thousands of farmers of all races into a production and financial crisis.

Approximately 13 000 farms were listed in the Government Gazette under unprocessed land claims, some since 2000, without any meaningful progress having been made in processing such claims. Affected farmers are therefore uncertain whether they will still have ownership of their farms in a year's time, resulting in a lack of development and maintenance of such farms.

The Commission for the Restoration of Land Rights last year experienced serious budgetary problems as a result of restitution, which have to date not been resolved. This Commission and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform are also party to many lawsuits as a result of contracts entered into in terms of the restitution process for the acquisition of land which have not been honored by them.

This problem could be further complicated should claims for the loss of land during the period prior to 1913 be allowed. There had been no discriminatory legislation in relation to land ownership before 1913 and a lot of land had changed hands in black-on-black conflict. Traditional tribes would therefore be able to lodge claims against one another, which means that the Koi San would be able to lay claim to the entire country. The cost to the tax payer of such a process will amount of billions of Rand and could lead to massive legal uncertainty. For these reasons the government had opposed earlier calls for reopening the claims process.

Economic development, job creation and food production will also not be supported by such a step. Farms transferred in the land claims process have in virtually all instances deteriorated, with little, if any, agricultural production, job creation or other forms of wealth creation taking place. The state's recapitalisation programme has to date been unable to get the thousands of farms - where infrastructure had declined or was stripped - back into production and it will probably cost more than the amount for which the land had originally been purchased for restitution.

Reopening of the land claims process - amid massive backlogs in finalising existing claims - could further jeopardise agricultural investment and production. In seriously affected areas such as KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which are already burdened by uncertainty and frustration over dragging land claims processes and capacity shortages in the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs, it could mean the end of private sector-driven rural development and job creation.

In the meantime the land redistribution programme - which is far more successful than the restitution programme and costs considerably less - has come to a virtual halt in the Northern provinces because farms subject to land claims cannot be offered for redistribution. The land reform process as such has become the victim of the department's administrative red tape and incompetence.

The deadline for finalising land claims has been postponed repeatedly and with a bottleneck in the Land Claims Court - which in most cases rules against the state - there is no expectation that existing land claims will be finalised within the next decade. If the Department finds it so difficult to manage the existing process, where will they find the capacity to deal with new, more extensive claims?

Agri SA has urged Minister Nkwinti to clarify the government's view on the alleged reopening of the claims process and to explain how this will fit into the comprehensive review of land policy and legislation as previously announced by the minister. Agri SA's position on the reopening and extension of the restitution process was also conveyed to the minister.

Statement issued by Dr Theo de Jager, Deputy President Agri SA, May 12 2011

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