As the country navigates through the storms of land restitution, a spotlight has been put on communal property associations’ (CPA) capacity to revive rural communities and stimulate the economy.
Peter Setou, chief executive of the Vumelana Advisory Fund, said while some of the challenges facing land reform beneficiaries are systemic, they are not insurmountable.
Setou said South Africa’s land reform programme holds immense potential to lift communities out of poverty and unemployment provided that the land is put to productive use once transferred.
Challenges haunt CPAs
He said for this potential to be realised, robust capacity building and effective governance structures are crucial to ensure that land reform beneficiaries can profitably manage and sustain their assets.
“According to the 2023/2024 Communal Property Associations (CPAs) Annual Report, there are a range of challenges being faced by land reform beneficiaries. These include non-compliance with the CPA Act and constitutional requirements, illiteracy among elderly members, poor administration by executive committees, internal conflicts and financial mismanagement, land invasions, and individual farming interests that overshadow collective goals,” Setou said.
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“Despite these challenges, CPAs have the potential to become engines of local economic development, as CPAs are uniquely positioned to create jobs, foster entrepreneurship, and drive rural development.”
Setou argues that capacity building, combined with strategic partnerships is essential to transforming land reform into a sustainable driver of social and economic development in the country.
“The department of agriculture, land reform and rural development notes that there are 1 707 registered CPAs, however, the CPAs continue to grapple with non-compliance with the CPA Act.
“The department reports that during the reporting period, 82% were found non-compliant with the provisions of Section 11 and Regulation 8 of the CPA Act – up from the 75% recorded during the 2022/23 reporting period,” he said.
Setou said issues of non-compliance impact the overall delivery of CPAs, as well as their attractiveness to investors.
Partnerships the way to go in fixing CPAs
“It will take concerted and collaborative efforts to realise the potential of CPAs, and there has to be a fundamental shift in how CPAs are supported.
“While capacity-building needs differ from community to community, this creates opportunities for diverse stakeholders to participate in supporting CPAs in unique ways,” Setou said.
He highlighted that for land reform to deliver on its promise, the focus must shift from merely transferring land to empowering communities with the tools and resources they need to succeed. This should include capacity-building initiatives tailored to the unique needs of each community.
“In addition, focus should be placed on strengthening governance structures at CPAs and other communal property institutions and on building trust between communities and private investors to enable the productive use of land through partnerships.
“There is a need to facilitate training that empowers CPAs to effectively implement business and operational models that separate land ownership from enterprise management.
“We have the solutions, and various organisations have done extensive research over the years and tested various models and we now need to implement the capacity building models to address the challenges that CPAs continue to face.”
Setou said the country needs the implementation of these models at scale to realise the full benefits of the land reform programmes.
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