An analysis of restitution and redistribution of agricultural land as a form of reparation in post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

This research paper is a study of a particular means of reparation within the South African context namely, the redistribution and restitution of land rights following the downfall of the Apartheid regime in the country. One of the major effects of Apartheid has been the displacement of communities and indigenous groups throughout South Africa. When the newly elected African National Congress (ANC), Government came to power, it sought to return to these groups and communities their dispossessed land and to negate the effects of the injustices of the past. The restitution of land is seen as a phase, the final phase marking the end of an era stained with the turmoil and suffering of people dispossessed of land in their own country.' Land is the most precious resource available to man and remains the only hope that the poorest communities in our society have for a meaningful existence. Communities that have no education or commercial skills can only rely on agricultural land for the provision of food, water and homes. For the purposes of rural development and the upliftment of our severely poverty stricken areas, the redistribution of land must take place expeditiously. In light of these circumstances the restitution of land is considered to be most significant form of reparation and yet, in South Africa the process is primarily viewed as a failure.