Mazibuko

Another Countryside

This statement is authored by Ruth Hall and Andries du Toit, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS)

The DA’s notice in respect of the introduction of a Private Member’s Bill on Communal Land Rights is right about one thing: poor people’s tenure rights in the former Bantustans have been languishing in a policy vacuum for too long. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has failed to provide any leadership on this matter. This vacuum has been particularly serious since the Constitutional Court struck down key provisions of the Communal Land Rights Act in May last year.  A debate on the future of the former Bantustans is sorely needed.

Unfortunately, the DA is wrong about almost everything else. The proposals they put forth are misguided, outmoded, and based on a mistaken analysis of the problem. They are likely to make matters worse, not better. In addition, they…

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