Department of Private Law

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Browsing Department of Private Law by Subject "Agricultural laws and legislation -- South Africa"

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    The regulation of agricultural land in South Africa : a legal comparative perspective
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Kotze, Tina; Pienaar, J. M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Private Law.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After 25 years of democracy, the legacy of land dispossession has not been redressed. The unequal distribution of agricultural land in South Africa is a direct consequence of the racially discriminatory laws, policies and practices which were in place for the largest part of the twentieth century. Accordingly, one of the key challenges the post-1994 government faced was how to address the unequal distribution of land –in general, but also specifically in relation to land for agricultural purposes. While there is consensus on the need for redistribution of agricultural land, much controversy persists around howto redistribute land so as to meet the various objectives, including a more equitable and diversified distribution of land ownership, food security, sustainability, affordability and effective implementation of relevant measures, undergirded by constitutionality. Accordingly, the question is not whether South Africa should pursue agricultural land reform, but rather howSouth Africa should go about it, specifically concerning the drafting and implementation of pertinent policy and legislative measures. In this process agricultural productivity, development and food security may not be compromised and mechanisms employed have to be aligned with constitutional imperatives, including the parameters provided for in the property clause, section 25 of the Constitution. The overarching aim of this dissertation is therefore to consider the regulation of agricultural land in South Africa from a land reform, specifically redistribution, perspective in order to assess whether current mechanisms employed as well as envisaged mechanisms are aligned with the Constitution, whether the approaches to acquiring agricultural land, flowing from the extant and envisaged regulatory framework, are likewise constitutional and whether, combined, an effective legal framework for redistribution in South Africa exists. With respect to the latter, efficacy for purposes of this study is linked to the legal dimension only and is not focussed on agricultural resources and components –in the broadest sense.For purposes of this dissertation, a comparative perspective is useful. It may be insightful to consider how Namibia and India (a) conceptualise the concept of agricultural land; (b) regulate agricultural land for redistribution purposes; (c) acquire agricultural land for redistribution and; (d) redistribute agricultural land. In light of the above, various recommendations are made, relating to a: (a) proposed definition of “agricultural land”; (b) legal framework for the regulation of agricultural land; and (c) legal framework for the redistribution of agricultural land in South Africa.