More than 1 300 communal property associations (CPAs) responsible for running farms and properties restituted to communities as part of the land reform programme are in shambles and not complying with the law.
The collapse of the CPAs has resulted in the failure of land restitution farms, plunging beneficiaries into poverty.
CPAs are structures formed by land claimant communities as part of the Communal Property Association Act 28 of 1996 to enable communities to manage properties awarded to them as part of land claims.
In its annual report for the 2023/24 financial year submitted before parliament last month, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) noted that from April 2023 to March 2024 financial year, there were 1 742 CPAs nationally.
“During the 2022/23 reporting period, 75% of the registered CPAs were non-compliant with the provisions of Section 11 and Regulation 8 of the Act, even though some are functional, during this period, 82% are non-compliant,” the commission revealed in its annual report.
This week President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Communal Property Associations Amendment Bill into law, amending the Communal Property Associations Act of 1996 “to provide for clarity on the objective of CPAs”.
The Presidency said the new law provides for general plans for land administered by associations, for the establishment of a communal property associations office and the appointment of a registrar of communal property associations.
“The law makes it clear that land will be owned by residents who are members of associations, and not by the associations themselves,” the Presidency said.
However, Lefa Mabuela, spokesperson for the national CPAs Forum, which was formed by the government “to heighten and encourage interaction between the department and the CPAs” in 2014, criticised the new law.
“It is true that most CPAs are dysfunctional; lands are lying fallow; there is no production and no food security. CPAs, communities and government are to blame for this situation,” Mabuela told Sunday World.
He said during the public consultation process they made written and oral submissions to the portfolio committee on rural development and land reform but these were disregarded.
“Those guys [parliamentarians] disregarded everything we had suggested or proposed, went back to parliament and passed the bill. The bill is actually the thinking or the minds of the politicians, not of the people or communities, so it’s a sad story,” said Mabuela.
“I think this country needs a serious dialogue to discuss this whole thing at length. We hope the new minister (Mzwanele Nyhontso) will listen to our concerns,” he said.
In its report, the CRLR further highlighted that “CPA challenges vary from CPA to CPA, which are mostly on issues of non-compliance with the CPA Act, non-adherence with their constitutions, illiterate elderly members, inappropriate administration by the executive committee, internal conflicts, poor financial management and land invasions”.
The dysfunctional CPAs listed in the report include the Nwandlam’harhi CPA in Lilydale, Mpumalanga, which presides over a R1-billion land claim, one of the most significant settlements since the passing of the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994, with a settlement amount of R939 360 000.
The community lodged claims against 21 properties, consisting of 63 portions, adding up to 65 000 hectares that included the R35 000 a night private luxury Mala Mala Game Reserve in the Kruger National Park.
However, the settlement has been dogged by infighting between factions, accusations of corruption amounting to millions of rands, nepotism and a lack of transparency, which resulted in several court cases.
The conflict has led to some claimants not receiving their annual dividends as part of the deal.
Such was the animosity between claimants that in 2020 some disgruntled claimants threatened to put down the Mala Mala game reserve fence so the animals could stray into the community.
In its report on the Nwandlam’harhi CPA, the CRLR said “there are numerous court applications concerning the validity of beneficiaries of the CPA, and committee members, which are pending on court roll.
The court granted an order, which the department has implemented.”
Siya Sithole, strategy manager for the land rights organisation Association for Rural Advancement, welcomed the amendments.
“The new law correctly clarifies that the land held by a CPA is owned by the members of the community and not the Communal Property Association itself.
“This mitigates the long-standing challenge of members of the community being sidelined by CPA committees who did not respect or recognise their individual ownership rights.
“The amendments include provisions to establish a CPA office and appoint a CPA registrar. This is a positive change as it empowers the department to hold CPAs accountable and demands that CPA operate within a transparent policy framework,” Sithole said
Dion Mnisi of the Nwandlam’harhi community said, although he had not fully studied the new act, it appeared progressive.
“Overall, I think it is a good act that will help us avoid this court thing by looters,” he said in reference to individuals refusing to vacate their positions in the CPA.
In its 2022/23 annual report, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development noted that “almost 94% of land claims lodged in 1998 have been settled, benefiting 2.3-million people who now own 4-million hectares.
An additional R22.5-billion has been spent on financial compensation for those who opted for financial compensation.”
