Agri SA supported orderly land reform – equitable land distribution is a prerequisite for rural stability and inclusive rural development. Agri-SA believed that expropriation should only be used as a last resort where negotiations fail. There needed to be a clear purpose for expropriation. Compensation should never be dependent on the state’s ability to pay. The land owner should always be afforded recourse to the courts to contest both the merits of the expropriation and the compensation amount.

The Committee considered the official list of proposed amendments to the Bill (the A-list) accompanied by the B version of the Bill incorporating all the proposed amendments into the Bill.

The Committee continued deliberations on the official list of committee proposed amendments to the Bill (A-list) accompanied by the B version which incorporated all the proposed amendments into the Bill. Chapter 4 on Intention to Expropriate and Expropriation of Property was completed.

The Commission for Gender Equality presented on its proposed campaign called One Woman, One Hectare of Land’. The campaign aims to mainstream gender equality, for it was proposed that the State should allocate one hectare of land, for the growing of food, to the poorest rural female-run households. It was believed that this would help alleviate poverty and empower rural women. It was pointed out that where women had land, their families generally were better nourished, better educated and able to move on.

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (the Commission) presented its expenditure trends and financial and performance report for the 1st quarter of the 2015/16 financial year. The performance was fully described by noting the achievements and the targets. In the first quarter, there was a target to settle 92 land claims but the Commission settled 38. 57 land claims were finalised against a quarterly target of 74. Eight projects were approved, against a quarterly target of 12. From the 1998 land claims, 195 land claims were researched compared to the quarterly target of 532.

The meeting began with the adoption of the draft report on the budget vote 39, where a number of small issues were raised, including typos and minor amendments. The main thrust of the changes was that the Land Claims Court should be given greater priority, and a policy needed to be put in place to help with alleviating the bottlenecks in these courts. The adoption of the report became heated when the DA abstained from approving it, even though they had been a part of the process from the beginning.

The South African Institute of Race Relations said the Bill made it difficult for the compensation amount to be decided by a court, and the Bill did not allow the courts to examine and rule on the validity of the expropriation. The Bill tried to limit how often people could go to court about the amount of compensation. The IRR argued that 60 days was not enough time for the claimant to institute legal proceedings for the determination of the compensation, this should be extended to 180 days. Compensation should include damages for additional losses.

To provide for the restitution of rights in land to persons or communities dispossessed of such rights after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices; to establish a Commission on Restitution of Land
Rights and a Land Claims Court; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
[Long title substituted by s. 31 of Act 63/97]

To enable communities to form juristic persons, to be known as communal property associations in order to acquire, hold and manage property on a basis agreed to by members of a community in terms of a written constitution; and to provide for matters connected therewith. (English text signed by the President.)

To provide for measures with State assistance to facilitate long-term security of land tenure; to regulate the conditions of residence on certain land; to regulate the conditions on and circumstances under which the right of persons to reside on land may be terminated; and to regulate the conditions and circumstances under which
persons, whose right of residence has been terminated, may be evicted from land; and to provide for matters connected therewith…”

To provide for security of tenure (land) of labour tenants and those persons occupying or using land as a result of their association with labour tenants; to provide for the acquisition of land and rights in land by labour tenants; and to provide for matters connected therewith. WHEREAS the present institution of labour tenancy in South Africa is the result of racially discriminatory laws and practices which have led to the systematic breach of human rights and denial of access to land

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: