US embassy cable - 04PRETORIA3107

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 003107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
COMMERCE FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA/JDIEMOND 
TREASURY FOR BRESNICK, LSTURM, AND AJEWEL 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN AND WJACKSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SF, ECON, EAGR 
SUBJECT: LAND REFORM: SLOW BUT STEADY IN SOUTH AFRICA 
 
REF: A. PRETORIA 6050 
 
     B. PRETORIA 5976 
 
Classified By: DCM Gillian A. Milovanovic. 
Reason: 1.5 (b,d). 
 
/// SUMMARY /// 
 
1. (C)  The ANC's approach to land reform is based on respect 
for private property, reliance on market mechanisms, and 
tightly controlled public spending.  Gains have been made in 
land redistribution and restitution; however, SAG goals are 
unlikely to be met without more funding.  Land tenure reform 
has seen the least progress and the SAG is revisiting tenure 
legislation.  Some critics claim that the South African 
government's (SAG) land reform policy is too conservative and 
should be completely transformed.  Others endorse the 
objectives but find fault with the process.  Grassroots 
pressure for the SAG to do more on the land front is weak. 
Land does not rank highly as a critical issue to most South 
Africans.  Demand for land is often really a demand for 
employment, housing, and income.  End Summary. 
 
/// STRUCTURED POLICY; TIGHT BUDGET /// 
 
2. (C) The ANC's approach to land reform is based on respect 
for private property, reliance on market mechanisms, and 
tightly controlled public spending.  The budget allocation 
for land reform has consistently equated to less than one 
percent of South Africa's total budget.  South Africa's land 
reform policy aims to address the inequity in land ownership 
caused by colonialism and apartheid and to secure tenure 
rights for vulnerable groups.  The ANC instituted in 1994 a 
land reform policy that seeks to achieve these goals through 
a process of restitution, redistribution, and tenure reform. 
Land restitution is designed to restore land or provide 
alternative compensation to those dispossessed as a result of 
racially discriminatory laws since 1913.  Land redistribution 
aims to broaden access to land for previously disadvantaged 
communities.  Tenure reform is designed to secure the rights 
of people living under insecure arrangements on land owned by 
others, including the state and private owners. 
 
/// RESTITUTION UNLIKELY TO MEET 2005 TARGET /// 
 
3. (C) South Africa's Department of Land Affairs (DLA) has 
made notable gains in land restitution but is unlikely to 
meet goals set by the government.  The SAG said it would 
settle all land claims by the end of 2005.  Since 1994, DLA 
has settled about 46,000 of 70,000 total urban and rural 
claims.  The outstanding claims, however, are predominantly 
rural claims, which are more complicated to verify and 
resolve than the urban claims.  Urban claims, in most cases, 
are settled with monetary compensation.  The DLA expects to 
settle all of the urban claims by the 2005 deadline but it is 
unlikely that rural claims will be completed.  The budget for 
the fiscal year of approximately R1 billion falls well below 
the R13 billion the DLA estimates it needs to settle all of 
the remaining claims.  The DLA contends that the Minister's 
recently expanded authority to expropriate (with 
compensation) will only be used in extreme cases and not as a 
tool to "finish up" the task of resolving the remaining rural 
restitution cases (Ref A). 
 
/// REDISTRIBUTION STRAIGHT FORWARD, NEEDS MORE FUNDING /// 
 
4. (C) The SAG, has committed to transferring thirty percent 
(approximately 30 million hectares) of commercial 
agricultural land to Black South Africans by 2015.  South 
Africa's land redistribution program operates on a 
free-market basis.  Aspiring landowners apply for land 
through "Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development 
(LRAD)" grants from the government.  DLA acquires land for 
redistribution through a willing-buyer, willing-seller 
method.  By mid-2003, the DLA had distributed 1.5 million 
hectares of land.  Despite its slow start (only 280,000 
hectares were transferred between 1994 and 1997), DLA 
officials are confident that they can achieve the 2015 
redistribution goal, but also express concern about 
inadequate resources.  Some analysts believe that the 
government will "inflate" data on land transferred by 
including government-owned land that will be turned over to 
land administration councils in communal areas. 
 
/// TENURE REFORM LAGS BEHIND /// 
 
5. (C) Land tenure reform has seen the least progress.  The 
SAG has been slow to develop, pass, and implement tenure 
reform legislation.  The recently passed Communal Land Rights 
Bill (Ref B) took several years to develop and is still 
awaiting approval from President Mbeki.  Implementation of 
the new legislation promises to be costly and difficult as 
all of South Africa's "communal" areas are affected (a total 
of 12-15 million rural people). 
 
6. (C) Legislation aimed at providing security for farm 
laborers has had very limited success.  The DLA has failed to 
implement the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and Labor 
Tenants Act and these two pieces of legislation have had 
minimal impact on increasing security for farm dwellers.  The 
DLA, recognizing its failure in this area, has decided to 
revisit these laws with the view of strengthening them and 
consolidating them into one Act.  The process has been in 
effect since early 2002 with no clear progress. 
 
/// CRITICISMS OF SAG'S POLICY /// 
 
7. (C) Groups who are highly critical of land reform policy 
carry little weight in political circles and include a few 
NGOs and the South African Communist Party.  They claim that 
the SAG's land reform policy is too conservative and should 
be completely transformed.  Groups such as the Landless 
People's Movement (LPM) would like to see extensive 
government intervention in land acquisition through 
expropriation and widespread redistribution to the landless 
poor. 
 
8. (C) Some land organizations including the National Land 
Committee (NLC) and the Program for Land and Agrarian Studies 
(PLAAS) also find fault with the entire land reform process. 
Their major criticism is that land reform is too slow and 
will not result in meaningful economic gains for the 
country's poor.  They would like to see the SAG take a more 
aggressive approach to transferring land and develop an 
integrated approach to land reform that incorporates 
government support mechanisms to help new landowners build 
houses, develop infrastructure, and farm the land. 
 
/// WEAK GRASSROOTS PRESSURE TO DO MORE /// 
 
9. (C) Other criticisms range from the relatively small 
number of restitution claims submitted before the deadline to 
the lack of necessary funds to accomplish reform objectives. 
While many of these concerns are legitimate, the SAG has not 
indicated any significant shift in policy as a result.  The 
media is perhaps the SAG's biggest critic.  Grassroots 
pressure to do more is weak.  Those most affected by inequity 
of land distribution are spread out across geographical and 
cultural communities and therefore lack a cohesive voice. 
Even the LPM has had minimal impact on land policy.  The LPM 
gained some notoriety for organizing a march on the 2002 
World Summit for Sustainable Development.  However, the LPM 
is loosely organized and is often portrayed by media and 
others as a radical element that encourages criminal activity 
(including land invasions).  Support for the group and its 
tactics is limited.  As a result, the SAG does not feel an 
overwhelming push to do more on the land front.  Calls for 
employment and poverty alleviation take precedence. 
 
/// MISPERCEPTION THAT LAND EQUALS INCOME /// 
 
10. (C) The SAG is aware that demand for land is often 
actually a demand for income, employment, and housing. 
Studies show that rural poor prefer jobs to land but often 
turn to land as a last resort when they give up on formal 
employment.  The SAG is committed to meeting its land reform 
goals, but its real focus is on creating economic development 
for South Africa's poor.  The ANC recognizes the importance 
of integrating Black South Africans into the agricultural 
sector but does not view land reform as a viable means to 
improve the livelihoods of the majority of the country's 
poor.  The SAG knows that it must find the right balance of 
restoring land to dispossessed Africans while remaining 
focused on its major challenge: increasing growth and 
creating jobs. 
 
/// SAG COMMITTED TO LAND REFORM POLICY /// 
 
11. (C) Recent surveys (Markinor and Afrobarometer) of the 
general South African population indicate that land does not 
rank highly as a critical issue.  In the surveys, employment, 
crime, poverty, health, and education topped the lists.  Land 
was cited as an important issue by less than 10% of those 
polled.  Even if economic development takes longer than the 
ANC expects, a strategy to placate South Africans through a 
radical change in land policy is highly unlikely.  The SAG 
values long-term sustainable growth for South Africa over 
short-term ploys to win favor from its constituents. 
 
12. (C) The SAG has demonstrated its commitment to a legally 
protected land reform policy that recognizes the need to 
change land ownership patterns while upholding the rights of 
all property holders.  Based on the magnitude of the 
undertaking and the problem of limited resources, one should 
not overemphasize the SAG's slow progress in reforming land 
ownership.  Significant gains have been made in recent years. 
 There is still a substantial amount of work to be done, and 
plenty of criticism of the slow progress to date, but there 
is no indication that the SAG intends to stray from its 
approach or abandon its objectives. 
HUME