Amendments to the Extension of Security of Tenure Act enable the formation of a land rights management board and land rights management committees to address tenure security, evictions, land rights disputes and land acquisition for settlement. Photo: File
Overnight, Yolanda Klaas found herself and her family without a home. Klaas had spent her life on a farm in the Cape Winelands. She was born and worked there. One evening, she returned home to find her belongings outside and her children distraught. Their home was now occupied by another farm worker’s family.
This began when Klaas, a third-generation farmworker, affirmed her labour rights by raising concerns about poor working conditions on the farm. In response, the farm owner dismissed her and evicted her from her home. All this happened without due process as demanded by the country’s laws.
Klaas’s experience is not unique. It is experienced by farm workers and farm dwellers throughout the country, but particularly those who work in Cape Winelands. Here, the experience of dispossession and tenure insecurity has been normalised.
Part of the problem is that on most farms, employment and housing remain closely linked as a result of the country’s history, leaving workers and their families particularly vulnerable.
For generations, farm workers and dwellers have lived at the mercy of farm owners, their livelihoods and homes tethered to the whims of those who control the land. According to Social Surveys, from 1984 to 2004, nearly 1.7 million people were evicted from farms, many without legal justification.
The threat of eviction has long served as a tool of control and intimidation, silencing dissent and perpetuating exploitative labour practices. Despite the original intentions of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) to prevent unlawful evictions and secure tenure for people living on farms, weak enforcement and limited resources have allowed unlawful evictions and tenure insecurity to persist, with devastating consequences for families and communities.
Prompted by the overwhelming demand for legal assistance by farm workers and dwellers facing eviction in the Western Cape, in February, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri), the Surplus People Project (SPP), and the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) hosted a consultative Indaba in Cape Town to address the conditions of farm dwellers. This gathering brought together the department of land reform and rural development; the department of human settlements, the department of water and sanitation, the South African Local Government Association, Legal Aid South Africa, public interest legal organisations and community-based and civil society organisations that represent and support farm workers and dwellers.
The aim was to establish a cross-sectoral support network to provide legal assistance and solidarity in response to unlawful evictions and unfair labour practices in the Winelands. Amendments to ESTA were central to the deliberations at the Indaba.
The recent amendments to ESTA aim to strengthen the protections available to long-term farm dwellers and workers like Klaas. These amendments, which came to effect on 1 April 2024, represent a critical shift not only in law, but in the underlying power dynamics of the agricultural sector. The amendments enable the department of agriculture, reform and rural development to establish a land rights management board and land rights management committees (LRMCs). These bodies provide avenues for stakeholder representation and will address issues related to tenure security, evictions, land rights disputes and land acquisition for settlement.
The LRMCs, comprising farm workers, farm dwellers, trade unions, government representatives, civil society organisations and farmers, will also be responsible for assisting the land rights management board in developing and maintaining the database of farmworkers and farm dwellers, The LRMCs will further play a critical role in land rights disputes by monitoring processes, facilitating the provision of municipal services on the acquired land in consultation with the relevant municipality, and identifying and recommending suitable land for redistributive purposes.
By institutionalising the LRMCs and mandating the participation of farm workers, trade unions and civil society, the amendments have the potential to democratise the process of land rights protection. This participatory approach is a direct challenge to the historical exclusion of farm workers from decision-making processes about the land on which they live and work. The LRMCs will further help streamline land acquisition and accelerate land redistribution. If properly supported and resourced, LRMCs could become a driving force for change, ensuring that the agricultural landscape is one of fairness, equity, and opportunity for all.
The effectiveness of these amendments in fostering inclusive participation have been demonstrated by the Interim Land Rights Management Committee pilot project in uMshwathi local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. In consultations at the indaba, stakeholders from this committee — farm workers and dwellers, farm dweller organisations and the department of water and sanitation, as well as the cooperative governance and traditional affairs department — spoke about their experiences, successes and problems of evictions, disputing labour violations and unionisation. Through this platform, farm workers and dwellers have been able to negotiate more effectively with farm owners, demonstrating the potential of such committees to support fair and inclusive land governance.
Two further developments hold particular significance to the lives of farm workers and dwellers. First, the amendments also mandate municipalities to ensure that basic services are provided on farms, significantly improving the living conditions of those who have long been neglected. This is not simply about the provision of infrastructure, but rather it is about restoring the dignity of farm workers and dwellers who deserve to live in safe, secure environments.
Second, the transfer of ESTA cases to the Land Court adds another critical layer. With a renewed focus on inclusive dialogue and action, there is now an opportunity for transformative change to the lived reality of farm workers and dwellers from one of fear and precarity to one of security and empowerment.
The implications of these reforms extend far beyond the boundaries of individual farms or even the agricultural sector. At its core, the struggle for tenure security is a struggle for justice, equality and the realisation of constitutional rights. The effective implementation of the ESTA amendments could serve as a blueprint for addressing other forms of land dispossession and rural marginalisation in South Africa.
By centring the voices and experiences of farm workers and dwellers in land governance, South Africa is taking a step towards addressing its colonial and apartheid past, a past defined by land dispossession and exclusion. The LRMCs, if successful, could become a model for participatory land reform, demonstrating that those most affected by policy should have a say in its design and implementation. Furthermore, improved tenure security and service provision have the potential to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty among farm worker families. Secure tenure means children can stay in school, families can invest in their homes, and communities can begin to build a future with dignity and hope.
But the promise of these reforms and changes in law will only be realised if the government, civil society and the agricultural sector work together to ensure robust enforcement and genuine participation. The establishment of the land rights management board and committees across South Africa will be critical to this. The story of Klaas, and others like her, reminds us that laws on paper are not enough. Real change requires a collective commitment to justice.
Lungelo Mncwabe is a women’s spaces intern at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa and Nokhetho Mhlanga is a researcher at Seri.