The pilot programme to spearhead land reform has fallen flat, with most provinces spending only a fraction of the budgets set aside for this purpose. Jim Day reports
THE government programme set up two years ago to spearhead land redistribution has failed to hand over more than a few acres to the landless.
Figures from the Department of Land Affairs show the Land Reform Pilot Programme has spent less than R20-million of its R314- million budget, and that provinces such as the Western Cape, Mpumlanaga and the Northern Province have spent nothing of the millions they were allotted to give as grants to the landless.
Officials blame red tape and inexperience in the provinces for the mess, and warn that much of the cash – originally drawn from the Reconstruction and Development Programme – will have to be handed back to central government coffers unless it is spent by next March.
The national Land Affairs Department has now taken charge of the programme, arguing that it hopes to learn from past failures and bring new impetus to the scheme.
“Realistically, I don’t think we’ll use all the funds,” Land Affairs Department deputy director general, Sue Lund, said. “We’d all hoped it would be quicker, but I’m satisfied in some areas.” She believes most of the money will be used before the time runs out.
The programme, which consists of 195 projects, was set up in early 1995 as a way to “kickstart” efforts to give land to 39 000 households.
The scheme is a crucial component of South African land reform, which estimates have suggested could affect up to 3,5-million people who have been dispossessed of land in the past, as well as others with land claims.
The projects were targeted on areas where the need for land reform appeared to be most pressing. In most cases, funds were allocated to buy land from private owners for redistribution; in other cases, funds were earmarked to smooth the transfer of government land to private owners.
But department figures produced in January show that just 6,2% of the budget has been spent.
On grants, Gauteng showed the strongest performance, spending nearly 14% of its R21,7-million budget for its three projects. Seven other provinces spent less than 3% of their grant budgets, with the Free State – assigned R47,8-million for grants for 88 projects – spending just 2,84%.
The Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Northern and North West provinces, together allotted R140-million for grants, had spent nothing.
The document also shows that 38 of the projects have been scrapped, 27 of them in the Free State.
Officials cite lack of resources, lack of experience in implementing land reform, cumbersome bureaucratic procedures and other reasons for the slow pace.
But they say the projects also acted as a testing ground to develop structures for future land redistribution – viewed in that light, the programme is not seen as a total washout.
The programme revealed, among other things, the need to include experts in agriculture, housing, and water affairs to ensure land redistribution creates sustainable communities.
“The pilot programme has been important in providing a base,” said Malcolm McCarthy, a manager of land reform projects with the Land and Agricultural Policy Centre. “But there are still enormous amounts of problems on the ground in terms of resources.”
But officials also admit that most people don’t care about streamlining bureaucratic structures or a proper framework – they want to see results.
“If you talk with people on the ground or with politicians, they’re not satisfied with the pace of delivery,” said Debbie Newton, the provincial director of the Free State’s Land Affairs Department.
She warned, however, that transferring land quickly could undermine the long-term success of the projects.
“We could see enormous progress in the next 18 months and enormous failure in three years,” she said.