Agricultural leaders are urging the upcoming National Dialogue to prioritise land reform and social cohesion. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that the dialogue will take place next month to tackle the country’s social ills and challenges hampering the economy; however, public and group participation is still sketchy at the moment.
The FW de Klerk Foundation executive director, Christo van der Rheede, said the dialogue is an opportunity where the people of South Africa, particularly the youth, could regain faith in participatory democracy.
“We recognised early on the urgency of this moment amidst rising voter apathy, despair across communities, growing racial polarisation and the general sense that public voices no longer matter.
“It was against this backdrop that we saw in the dialogue an opportunity to rekindle civic commitment, restore social cohesion, and allow South Africans across ideologies, generations and sectors to forge consensus around the nation’s future,” Van der Rheede said.
Collective land ownership problematic
Van der Rheede said land reform remains a constitutional imperative, and a comprehensive urbanisation plan and freeing up of land must be developed, and broadening ownership should be fundamental to land distribution for housing and agricultural purposes.
“Too many farms distributed to communal property associations and communities lie idle. Many farms where millions of rands were spent to develop infrastructure remain unproductive. This poses a serious threat to food security.
“The current model based on collective ownership is seriously undermining planning and longer-term sustainability. The state should rather focus on promoting individual ownership of farms and an aggregator model. There are good examples of functional aggregator models throughout South Africa.”
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He said a big no to expropriation without compensation, as such an approach will impoverish South Africa and destroy the economy, as well as destroy agricultural value chains critical for food security.
“The dialogue must ask: how do we unlock our human and natural potential, honour regional commitments and implement existing masterplans and development frameworks?”
Van der Rheede added that the foundation would continue to support coordination, transparency and strategic inclusivity across sectors.
Action plans needed, not just talking
Peter Setou, chief executive officer of the Vumelana Advisory Fund, said challenges related to land reform and transformation are well documented in various reports, such as the Motlanthe report (High Level Panel Report) and the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture.
“We hope the dialogue could reflect on these important reports, the shortcomings identified, and recommendations made, including why these have not been implemented. In this regard, we would hope that key role players involved in this area of work will be consulted as part of carving an action plan to address the challenges.
“The most important aspect of the dialogue will be its outcomes and whether these can be translated into action plans that can be implemented with clear timelines,” he said.
Addressing the National Dialogue Eminent Persons Group, Ramaphosa said their task is to ensure that the outcomes of the dialogue can be institutionalised in a manner that informs and guides the direction the country takes.
“You are being called upon to use your experience, acumen, and energy to give South Africans confidence that participation in the National Dialogue can help to advance their interests and secure their future,” he said.
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