Eviction of Farm Workers Briefing to the Select Committee 21st August 2007 DDG: Land and Tenure Reform, Mr. Mduduzi Shabane Renewing our Pledge A national partnership to build a better life for all

Outline of presentation Background Current interventions New interventions Conclusions

Background Two pieces of legislation enacted to deal specifically with people on farms (ESTA and LTA) DLA leads the implementation with different stakeholders collaborating. No adequate data has been available to assess the impact of these interventions.

Background continued DLA partnered with Nkunzi Development Association on a study to obtain accurate information on the nature, extent and impact of evictions from farms. Assessing the period between 1984 to 2004. Intended to inform policy debates and interventions. Findings – just below 2 million people were evicted from farms.1% were illegal evictions. Main drivers: drought, interventions of legislation such as sectoral determination of salaries, change of farm operations into game farming

Current interventions Current interventions are basic and inadequate due to among other things: Limited capacity within DLA Few attorneys willing to act on behalf of farm dwellers Weak land NGO’s – funding Poor organization of farm dwellers

Current interventions Legal Representation and mediation services as an interim; DLA partnered with the Rural Legal Trust and the Legal Aid Board. Funded the provision of these services. Services offered through provincial affiliates of the RLT. Where necessary PLRO’s do instruct private attorneys through internal budget.

Land Summit called for the review of both ESTA and LTA. New interventions Land Summit called for the review of both ESTA and LTA. Three studies were commissioned by DLA to: One: To establish near accurate information on farm dwellers and their living conditions – country wide. Two: To look at how much the legislative intervention meets the Constitutional promise of providing tenure security. Three: To look into the enforcement and compliance environment.

New Interventions cont… Findings of the study one Farm Dweller estimation survey completed and the following are some of the findings.

Estimates from the survey

Provincial density

New Interventions cont… These findings now guide further interventions and assist in meeting the Presidential Priorities re: land delivery and provision of long term tenure security through proactive land acquisition. PLRO’s will also overlay this information on their Area Based Land Reform Plans (ABP) initiatives.

New Interventions cont… Findings of the study two and three Still to be presented to the Department Studies still work in progress

New Interventions Land Rights Management Facility Objectives To offer a basket of options on land rights and tenure issues. Legal Representation, Mediation of disputes and settlement thereof, Evictions Monitoring, and Raising Land Rights Awareness and promoting access to services and products offered by the DLA through Call Centre. Training of stakeholders on applicable legislations and policies Establishment of District, Provincial and National Fora

New Interventions Internal consultation on the concept conducted. Land Rights Management Facility Internal consultation on the concept conducted. DG’s of Land Affairs, Justice and National Treasury to agree that DLA will fund from its voted funds for legal representation of farm dwellers. Design and establishment of land rights facility by end of September. An agreement between DLA and DOJ to use the NYS for training of new attorneys.

Conclusions Many Farm Dwellers are yet to enjoy the fruits of freedom. monitoring of evictions and rapid response should improve will the role out of the LRMF which will have a Call Centre (Toll-Free number). Farm Dwellers will become the priority focus of the DLA in land acquisition. New land acquisition model for farm dwellers has been developed and is subject to approval by relevant authorities Awareness on land rights and products to people on farms is getting a focus.

END Thank you