An article published in the Congress of South African Trade Unions’s weekly newsletter this week slams the government’s policy on land reform, saying it has failed “dismally” to achieve social and economic transformation and development.
The article says delegates to a recent African food workshop in Johannesburg blasted the government’s land policy on the grounds that it had failed to correct the “injustices black people suffered during the apartheid era and colonisation”.
The workshop, held under the auspices of the International Union of Food in Africa, was attended by trade union leaders, NGOs, research institutions and community organisations.
The article says delegates complained that “since the arrival of colonialists, Africans have lost huge tracts of land before 1913 through the wars of dispossession and colonisation”.
But, the article continues: “By the end of 1999 the redistribution and restitution programmes combined had only transferred 1,13% of agricultural land back to black ownership.
“Furthermore, with the current budget cuts as per structural adjustment plan, land redistribution and restitution programmes shall remain unrealised in our lifetime.”
The article says delegates also expressed concern at the continuing violation of farm workers’ rights, including the eviction of farm dwellers.
“They said the practice was aggravated mostly by the unclear design and implementation of the government policy on land reform, which was, among other things, ignoring the role of women in farming.”
The article says delegates resolved to:
” Build and strengthen the links among civil society formations to organise and mobilise around the land question;
” Pressure the state to commit itself to a far-reaching programme of land reform, with realistic budgets and other resources;
” Push for the amendment of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 to accommodate those who lost land before 1913; and
” Press for the prioritising of land provision to women, the unemployed and the youth.
“We will strive for the development of an integrated land-reform policy that will result in the realisation of these issues and primarily social and economic development of the poor, women, unemployed, landless and homeless. This policy shall be founded on the needs, wants and the aspirations of the people.”