Extract from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform's Land Audit as approved by Cabinet September 5 2013:
Forward by the Minister
Minister: Rural Development and Land Reform
In 2009 government declared rural development and land reform one of the five priorities on the national agenda, and in May the same year the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform was established. lts task was to constructively reform land ownership patterns, and to develop vibrant and sustainable rural communities, through job creation and the provision of infrastructure .
In South Africa, the question of land is a sensitive and emotive one, and has been since the earliest days of colonialism. The issue was exacerbated during the dispossession prograrnme given effect by the 1913 Natives' Land Act, and worsened during the dark days of apartheid when a flood of similar legislation effectively impoverished the black population, and banished them to the least fertile areas of the country.
This was particularly hard on rural communities, accustomed over centuries to using the land they occupied for agricultural and economic purposes, not forgetting the important aspect of tenure. This was effectively a birth right, and removing that right was devastating. Nelson Mandela, on trial for his life for attempting to correct this, declared :"I am without land because the white minority has taken a lion's share of my country and forced me to occupy poverty-stricken reserves, over-populated and over-stocked .We are ravaged by starvation and disease!"
The job of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is to unravel this disaster and repair the damage.
In giving effect to its mandate, the department developed the strategy of 'agrarian transformation', defined as 'a rapid and fundamental change, in the use and control (patterns of ownership across race, gender, and class) of land, livestock and cropping'. The declared objective was 'social cohesion and development', and the Comprehensive Rural Development Plan (CRDP) was conceptualised as the overarching policy and Implementation framework to achieve this.
By 2010 it became clear that records of who owned what in South Africa; where, and what proportion of this belonged to the State, were uncoordinated, inadequate or incomplete. Apart from any other consideration, this information gap occurred at a time when government, (within the context of the CRDP) was in the process of setting a new trajectory for land reform, through the development of the Green Paper on Land Reform.lt was clear that a comprehensive State Land Audit was required as soon as was practical and work on this began in earnest.
This was a matter of strategic national importance, and needed to be a thorough and accurate exercise, and the department was well aware that this was not a process that could be rushed, yet alone completed overnight.
Land is a finite resource. lt sustains our country through the process of food production; it determines our sovereignty as a nation; it is the foundation of our diverse culture, and is at the heart of our being. The State Land Audit serves to underpin this.lt has now been completed and the relevant data vetted and verified. We now know who owns what part of South Africa; what land the State owns and where it is located.
This overall view of land ownership in South Africa can now be used constructively -in redistribution matters, tenure reform, administration and in a variety of developmental decisions - to enhance the effectiveness of the land reform programme.
Appropriately, the exercise has been completed shortly before we mark the centenary of the act which, more than any other, brought chaos to land ownership patterns in our country, the notorious 1913 Natives' Land Act.
Accordingly, it gives me great pleasure to present to the people of South Africa, the State Land Audit.
Foreward by the Deputy Minister
Mr Lechesa Tsenoli
Deputy Minister :Rural Development and Land Reform
Finally we deliver on another of the issues that arose from the land summit in 2005 and also from critical policy and elective ANC conference urgings that government does a land audit. This emerged from a concern that what can't be measured can't truly be done properly.lt was called for to inform transformation, reconstruction and development of our country.
The land audit sheds SOME light on who owns what land in South Africa, provides a basis to compare and contrast State, public, private and communal land, contributes some clarity about vertical and horizontal responsibility - across the three spheres, between departments and public entities ownership of land.
The long standing call for agrarian transformation - changes in land ownership, use and control becomes now even more urgent. The audit we hope will also go a long to contribute towards better accountability and, perhaps, clean audits too.
Here's to progress on a nettlesome national grievance that needs our collective attention like never before!
Foreword by the Director General
Mr Mdu Shabane
Director General Rural Development and Land Reform
Land is a national asset
The land which we farm on, conduct business on and build on has immense and remarkable value in terms of socio economic development of our country.
This is the reason, among others that our department commissioned the audit of all land that is owned by the State and that which is in the hands of private individuals and entities.
Over the last three to four years the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has embarked on a series of legislative and policy reforms to give meaning to our land reform and ru ral development programme as espoused in the national government's key priorities.
The land audit is complete and we now have a picture of the patterns of ownership. The reality could not be further from what we had suspected all along. That the bulk of the land in South Africa is in private hands.
This year marks a centenary since the 1913 Natives' Land Act was made law, driving Africans away from productive land and confining them to Bantustans. Many were compelled to work in the cities as miners and tillers in the agriculturally productive centres of the country.
As such, this audit comes at an apt moment where we are steadfast in our resolve to reverse the legacy of this abominable act that had brought nothing but shame to Africans .The results of the audit will assist us with better planning for our broader land reform program.
Results show that some 14% is registered State land and 4% recently surveyed State land, while 79% is in private hands. Of this 79%, a significant percentage is owned by private individuals, companies and trusts. We are unable to identify foreign ownership because the system does not provide for that analysis. Through our Policy on Land Owned by Foreigners (PLOF) we aim to revise the regime governing land ownership by foreign nationals.
In this way we will be laying proper foundations towards achieving the target of restoring ownership of a significant portion of productive land to the black majority by 2014.
The results of the land audit will allow us to restore the dignity of the dispossessed majority. As such, the audit which was finished on the eve of the centenary of the 1913 Natives' Land Act, will serve as one of the final nails in the coffin of what shall never be repeated.
Our land is the basis for the prosperity of South Africa and her people.
What is a land audit?
lt is a gathering of all information relating to:
- Who is the owner
- Who is the occupant/user
- The rights to the land
- Current usage of the land
- What buildings and improvements exist on it.
What is State land?
Land that is owned by the State (National, provincial , local municipalities and parastatals).
What is registered State land?
Land that is registered in the name of the State (in the Deeds Registrar's Office) and certifted by a title deed document that indicates which State division or department has been allocated ownership.
What is unregistered State land?
Land belonging to the State that has been surveyed but not registered in the Deeds Office.
Why was an audit done on registered State land?
To compile an accurate land register that provides detailed information on:
1 .What rights exist over the land
2.What buildings exist over the land
3. The current usage of the land and buildings/improvement situated on it
4. The State division/department that is the holder of the title deed of the land
5. Who is the occupant/user of the land.
How was the State land audit done?
The audit was conducted for all nine provinces of South Africa and consisted of two phases:
Phase 1:A study of the Deeds Offices' records was conducted in 2010, in order to identify all pieces of land registered in the name of the State.
Phase 2: Every piece of identified State land was then confirmed by a site visit where all information relating to occupant/user and contact details, existing buildings and services, whether it was in fact State or private land, occupation agreements, etc. were determined.
Who performed the audit?
Phase 1: Was conducted by State officials employed in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (Office of the Chief Surveyor-General).
Phase 2: Was conducted on site by State officials with assistance from contract workers employed by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. They recorded all the necessary information (as explained above).
What was done with the findings of the audit?
The findings of the audit were consolidated into a detailed report entitled "Land Audit" and presented to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform by the Chief Surveyor-General.
Former Bantustans
The majority of the Africans largely occupied 13% of the country. The 13% constituted the former Bantustants land (Ciskei, Gazankulu , Kangwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa, Qwaqwa, Transkei,Venda, Bophuthatswana).
Private land vs State land
Table 2 below show extent of both private land and State land. Unaccounted extent is the different between the province extent and the sum of private land
***
Land user per province
Table 4 shows the extent of land per user category as collected by the field workers during the field verification
Land use per province
Table 5 shows the land use extent per province as identified by fieldworkers during the field verification
***
Conclusion
Working together we can and should restore land to the landless
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, continues to provide a national cadastral survey management system in support of an equitable and sustainable land dispensation that promotes socio-economic development.
This land audit booklet is one of the many initiatives that the department, and government, is undertaking to ensure that our painful land ownership pattern is not repeated. The country can simply not allow past inhuman legislation like the 1913 Natives' Land Act to re-flourish.
The Act also known as the Black Land Act was passed because of constant pressure by the then government to prevent the 'encroachment' of black South Africans into white areas. In another ominous development, Parliament passed the Immigration Act. This Act limited the free movement of Asians and restricted their entry into South Africa. These Acts and apartheid resulted in Africans, especially blacks, being poor and landless.
Restoring land to the landless people of our country is a sensitive issue that should be a priority for us all. The Office of the Chief Surveyor-General has, through this report, made it possible for the country to better understand the land challenge, a challenge that government is committed to resolve:
Officials in this office worked very hard in doing the audit and compiling this report, their hard work will not only benefit all but also the coming generations of this truly unique and marvellous country.
South Africa will only prosper if all human and economic needs are met. A report like this, and other developments that are underway, surely will better the lives of all so that all can work together to do more.
The original PDF from which this document has been extracted and transcribed is available here.
Issued by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, September 5 2013
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