A representative of the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) briefed the Committee on the audit outcomes and expenditure patters in the rural development portfolio for the 2014/2015 financial year. The quality of submitted financial statements for the Agricultural Land Holding Account (ALHA) was good but needed improvement. The quality of submitted performance reports for Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) was good but required intervention from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR or the Department).

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DLDLR) provided a progress report on its interventions to address the challenges arising from the actions of the Rama Communal Property Association (CPA). The CPA had initiated some income generating activities on its land, which included a quarry business, and had started a museum and an entertainment centre that featured a cinema. In partnership with the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and private investors the CPA was in the process of developing houses on its land.

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has nine regional offices and three satellite offices. It explained that there were business processes in place to guide the application and consultation process. It emphasised that the primary duty to consult rested with an applicant for a mining permit and a prospecting, exploration, production or mining right. Applications for rights and permits were lodged online using the South African Mineral Resources Administration System (SAMRAD).

The preservation, development and sustainable use of agricultural land are of vital importance to ensure long-term food security. On a global level, food security is closely linked to Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals, namely to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by, amongst others, halving, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

Political resistance towards international development is a prevalent theme in global civil society and

To provide for the upgrading and conversion into ownership of certain rights granted in respect land; for the transfer of tribal land in full ownership to tribes; and for matters connected therewith.
(Afrikaans text signed by the State President.)
(Assented to 27 June 1991.)
BE IT ENACTED by the State President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:

As a country we need to prioritise the acquisition and development of land for settlement purposes if we are to make any impact on the demand for housing.  Between 1994 and 2014 the South African government provided more than 2.5 million houses and some 1.2 million serviced sites, but the housing backlog nevertheless increased over this same period from 1.5 million to 2.1 million units

This study aimed to link land cover/use change to water quality in an important water supply coastal catchment. The approach followed a spatial and temporal analysis of historical catchment land use change to assess how changes influenced water quality and river flow in the Touws and Duiwe Rivers, southwestern Cape, South Africa. Each sub-catchment has unique characteristics which influence land use and water quality and the purpose was to analyse each one separately.

In South Africa, policies of separate development and restrictions placed on capital expenditure imposed on the lands occupied by the indigenous people during the colonial era prevented the state from implementing the cadastre in the communal areas of the country. The status quo persists to this day, which has resulted in a dual system that promoted investment in areas where private property rights were permitted, but relegated the traditional communities into poverty and disinvestment

Encroaching on Lands and Livelihoods considers whether national expropriation laws in 30 countries across Asia and Africa follow the international standards established in Section 16 of the VGGTs. It analyzes laws against a set of 24 indicators (hereinafter “expropriation indicators”) based on the standards established in Section 16 and provides examples of expropriation practices drawn from literature reviews to illustrate the importance of adopting international standards.

Deforestation remains a persistent environmental challenge in Africa. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that between 2010 to 2015 alone, the continent experienced a net loss of around 17 million hectares of forests. To put this in perspective, this is equivalent to more than 1.3 times the total land size of England. It is also a major driver of carbon emissions

In Mozambique, changes in land access and use are shaping new landscapes, often at the expense of the poor. Despite progressive land legislation, elite groups and vested interests are consolidating land holdings while peasant producers are being dispossessed of their land and access to fertile plots is becoming increasingly difficult.