By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
5 September 2024 – The Department of Land Reform and Rural Development briefed the Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development on Wednesday about the Tenure Reform Programme, which focuses on land and tenure rights for farm dwellers and labour tenants.
The committee decided to defer the component on communal land tenure because it required focused attention. The report on tenure rights for farm dwellers and labour tenants outlined the progress made in acquiring land, protecting tenure rights for farm dwellers, and settling labour tenant applications lodged in terms of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act of 1996.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development, Albert Mncwango said by 31 March 2001, the department had received a total of 20 524 labour tenant applications, of which 11 423 had been finalised and 9 101 were outstanding.
Mncwango said while the committee welcomed the progress, it expressed great dissatisfaction with the fact that it took 23 years to settle just a little over 50% of the applications.
“The committee welcomed the intervention by the courts to oversee the settlement of the labour tenant applications through a Special Master of Labour Tenants at the Land Claims Court. The department must submit credible information to the committee.
“Some of the statistics presented contradicted previous reports presented during the 6th Parliament. Further, the department’s report was short in detail,” he said.
Mncwango further said the committee expected the report to address the question of evictions and how the department has worked to secure the rights of farm dwellers, including the work of the Panel of Mediators and Judicial Administrators, Panel of Arbitrators, legal representation through the Legal Aid Board, and the Land Rights Awareness Campaigns.
He added that members of the committee raised concerns about what appears to be little work done to address the weaknesses identified in the Joint Oversight Report of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour and the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development tabled in the National Assembly in 2022.
“The department said that it would have to come and present a comprehensive report about what it has done with the recommendations. Many loopholes identified in the parliamentary report were to find expression in the ESTA Amendment Act, enacted in April 2024.
“These amendments advocated for, among other things, the establishment of a Land Rights Management Board and Land Rights Management Committees to deal with a range of issues affecting farm dwellers and labour tenants,” said Mncwango.
He stressed the need for an audit to quantify the extent of farm evictions and outstanding labour tenant applications. Mncwango also said there is a need for developing a plan to settle claims quickly.
“The committee will invite the Special Master for Labour Tenants to further discuss the mechanisms put in place to fast-track finalising labour tenant applications.
“We urge the department to hold Land Rights awareness campaigns to inform farm dwellers and labour tenants about their rights and the statutory recourse provided in ESTA as amended and the LTA,” he said.
Meanwhile, the acting Director-General, Nomtandazo Moyo said the progress aligns with budget allocation and staff capacity. Moyo said in addition to a decreasing budget of R206 293 000 in 2021/22 to R111 438 000, each Provincial Land Reform Office, has three staff members responsible for ESTA, LTA and CPA.
“The slow pace of finalising labour tenants’ applications reflected the available resources within the department. Parliament should push for a bigger budget so that the department can employ more officials and settle the cases,” she said.
The Guardian 