1. The land question inThe land question in
South AfricaSouth Africa

2. The distribution of land in South
Africa:
h d h l• 1913: The Native Land Act white settlers
had the right to possess 87% of the land. Black
Africans were allowed to posses only 7% of
the land and were forced to live in reserves.
• Conquering vacant land: 1890‐1930.
• Labor was needed for mines Number of blackLabor was needed for mines. Number of black
farmers diminished drastically.
1936 L d d T t A t 13% f th l d• 1936: Land and Trust Act. 13% of the land was
reserved for black people.

3. Land reform after 1994Land reform after 1994
• 1994: End of Apartheid: First Free Elections in
h fSouth Africa
Land reform with the objective to redistribute
30% f h l d d b h hi h bl k30% of the land owned by the white to the black
population
Th di t ib ti f l d t f lThe redistribution of land was part of a larger
agrarian reform
This agrarian reform was based on the neoliberalisticThis agrarian reform was based on the neoliberalistic
principle of the World Bank and International
Monetary Found: “Willing buyers, willing sellers”: The
redistribution of land should be regulated by the
market

4. • 1997: White Paper on South African Land Policy:1997: White Paper on South African Land Policy:
1. The ridistribution of land after the espropriation in 1913 (NLA).
2. The ridistribution of land in order to correct the inequal access of
property rights
3. Security of property rights to poor people
• 1999: The Land Rights Bill:• 1999: The Land Rights Bill:
The problem of individual vs. common property
i htrights
• 2001: Land Redistribution for Agricultural
D l (LRAD)Development (LRAD)
The target group: single individuals
• 2004: The Communal Land Right Act:
– Land given to communities rather then to indivuals
– The question is to define what is a community?q y

5. The results:The results:
Q tit ti i t f i O l 4 % f th• Quantitative point of view: Only 4 % of the
land has been ridistributed (2006)
• Rejection of the Market based approach by• Rejection of the Market based approach by
social movements
• Social effects: difficulty to analyze social• Social effects: difficulty to analyze social
effects due to the poor quantitative effect

6. The problems:The problems:
• Resistance on the one hand from land owners and on
the other resistance from social groups
• Individual vs. common property rightsp p y g
• The remaining question is:The remaining question is:
What is the best way to solve the unequal distribution
of land considering on the one hand economico a d co s de g o t e o e a d eco o c
development and on the other social equality?