Land reform: Vumelana Advisory Fund welcomes the President’s State of the Nation Address, as it addressed a number of pressing matters impacting South Africans in general. However, it is regrettable that land reform was not mentioned as a priority area and appears to have been relegated to the periphery, when in fact it should be a priority given the drastic, systemic slowdown in land reform.
Vumelana maintains that land reform should be a primary focus of the administration rather than an afterthought. There is an urgent need to achieve scale in supporting more land reform beneficiaries to put their land to productive use. As we look ahead to the Budget Speech, we are hopeful for a robust financial commitment to land reform to truly drive an empowering land reform programme that is well resourced to break through current bottlenecks and turn stagnant policies into the lived reality of the promise of land reform for South Africans.
As we begin 2026 and look beyond, there are signs of an improving economy, with the agricultural sector in particular showing resilience. However, the slow pace of land reform, coupled with the failure to develop or improve infrastructure in rural areas, is threatening long-term investment and has a spiralling effect on joblessness.
The focus for 2026 must be a shift from policy debates to the implementation of existing policies, as well as addressing some of the shortfalls that have already been identified through a number of government-commissioned reports, including the High-Level Panel report, commonly referred to as the Motlanthe Report.
The overall thrust calls for a much quicker, better-coordinated and measurable approach to ensure sustainable land reform. The outlook further demands transparent and evidence-based interventions to address the challenges impacting successful land reform. Closer collaboration between sector players and other key stakeholders is essential to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Sustainable land reform remains a constitutional imperative. It is also one of the key interventions that can ensure restored land is put to productive use and that jobs are created, particularly in rural areas, if implemented correctly.
