Deputy President David Mabuza has today, Friday 03 August 2018, chaired the inaugural meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform which will provide political oversight and oversee the implementation of Cabinet decisions on Land Reform and Anti-Poverty interventions.

President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and appointed Deputy President David Mabuza as its Chairperson. The Inter-Ministerial Committee comprises of the following Ministers:

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Minister of Environmental Affairs
Minister of Human Settlements
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
Minister of Finance
Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform
Minister of Public Works
Minister of Public Enterprises
Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Minister of Water and Sanitation

In addition to the political oversight mandate of this Committee, it will also coordinate, integrate and ensure accelerated implementation of the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review as well as the High Level Panel on Land Reform.

In this regard, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform received a report on the work done by the Departments of Rural Development and Land Reform, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as well as other relevant departments on land reform.   

At the meeting this afternoon, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform noted that the pace of land reform under the current legislative framework has been slow. However, the meeting acknowledged that substantial progress has been made in ensuring that there is continued productive use of the land, while speeding up the process of redress.

In this regard, it resolved that the approach to land reform must be based on three elements, namely, increased security of tenure, land restitution and land redistribution. This would be pursued without undermining the productive use of land that is already restituted and redistributed, thereby ensuring that this process does not negatively affect economic growth and agricultural production.

Deputy President Mabuza called on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform to equally focus on the development and implementation of a package of post-settlement support measures to enhance productivity of restituted land, including communal land. The Deputy President said, this would ensure that the productive capacity of the country is improved to respond to the challenge of unemployment and poverty.

The Deputy President further called on the Inter-Ministerial Committee to keep it uppermost in their minds that the planting season is coming. “In the meantime, we must therefore come with tangible programmes to support production in restituted and communal land,” said Deputy President Mabuza. 

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform will be supported by a Panel of Experts to be appointed by the President. In the main, the panel will assist in providing a unified perspective on expropriation of land in the wider context of persisting land inequities and unsatisfactory land and agrarian reform as well as urban land development and distribution achievements since 1994.

This Panel of Experts will also provide a diagnosis on challenges, and assess progress and limitations with laws, policies and their implementation to date, and develop recommendations and/or the identification of options for the way forward.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform also noted successful on-going public hearings throughout the country that are overwhelmingly in support of this agenda, and further encourages all South Africans to engage in national debates around the proposal for the expropriation of land without compensation. This demonstrates and reinforces the deepening democratic culture of public participation in governance and legislative processes. 

“As part of enhancing the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform, I will lead the process of engaging community sectors, traditional leaders, farmers and other civil society formations on the implementation of government programmes aimed at acceleration of land reform”, said Deputy President Mabuza.

Given the importance of this matter and the growing anxiety in certain sections of our nation and the investor community, Deputy President Mabuza will convene the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform on a monthly basis to ensure speedy processing of this important agenda of transformation. These meetings will be preceded by technical work of the Committee of Directors-General of relevant government departments to evaluate progress achieved in this important area of work.