Land ownership in South Africa remains skewed towards white farmers.
David Silverman/via Getty Images
Land reform had not been held back by the constitution but by capacity constraints and a lack of political will.
Young Sandi Sile on an abandoned structure in Makhanda, South Africa, in 2013. Questions remain about how the new law will treat abandoned land.
Getty Images
The proposed new law has a long history. The country has been trying for almost 12 years now to come up with expropriation legislation that is in line with the constitution.
Land reform can assist in creating more employment-intensive farming systems
Gunter Fischer/-Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
When South Africa eventually emerges from the fog of the COVID-19 crisis, structural reform, including land reform, will be high on the political agenda as never before.
Farmers work in a field donated to the black community in Coligny, some 120kms west of Johannesburg.
Luca Sola/AFP via Getty Images
The proposed amendment to the constitution represents a critical juncture in South African constitutional politics.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has to inspire confidence amid growing scepticism.
GCIS
The challenge to deliver a persuasive speech comes firstly in the context of intense doubts as to whether President Ramaphosa is truly in charge of the ANC.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to fix South Africa are being undermined from within his own party, the ANC.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
Ramaphosa’s detractors are unlikely to succeed in their rumoured bid. And, their failure will not be because they’ve suddenly become weak within the administration.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech failed to inspire confidence.
EFE-EPA/ANC handout
The year ahead promises to be a very difficult but also a very decisive year for South Africa. Is President Ramaphosa equal to the challenge?
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and the governing African National Congress.
EPA/Nic Bothma
The most that may be hoped for from the party’s annual statement is evidence of a president who is confident, clear and courageous.
Children play in a cabbage patch near their home in Modderspruit, near Rustenburg, South Africa.
EFE-EPA/Halden Krog
The abandonment of crop farming fields isn’t new. But some researchers say it’s accelerated in the last two decades.
Peter Marais, the Freedom Front Plus’ candidate for Western Cape premier, left, and party leader, Pieter Groenewald.
Brendan Magaar/African News Agency(ANA).
The FF+‘s constituency is overwhelmingly Afrikaner white Protestants. But, it appears to have made inroads among coloured conservatives.
Mmusi Maimane, leader of South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, on the campaign trail.
EFE-EPA /Kim Ludbrook
There is a huge divide between what is important right now and what the election is likely to be about.
The Brexit fallout shows why referenda shouldn’t be considered lightly.
Shutterstock
Referenda have their place in democracy, but can also be misused.
DSC
The main reason land reform in South Africa has been lethargic is not the Constitution, but a flawed approach.
Support for land redistribution tends to be stronger among economically disadvantaged South Africans.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludrick
A survey shows that support for land reform in South Africa differs according to race.
Shutterstock
The push to nationalise South Africa’s Reserve Bank is informed by the mistaken view that private shareholders affect monetary policy.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is accused of pandering to Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini (right) and other traditional leaders.
GCIS
South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC , is mishandling the process leading towards land expropriation without compensation.
Lacklustre economic activity has rendered millions of South Africans unemployed and poor.
EPA/Nic Bothma
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to take South Africa’s ruling party seriously when it talks about economic reform.
South African land reform debates reflect a tricky balance of power post Jacob Zuma’s rule.
GCIS
South Africans can’t afford to let the land debate be reduced to a shouting match.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is walking a tight on land reform.
GCIS
Clarifying when and how the South African constitution allows for expropriation of land without compensation will strengthen property rights.
A member of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters party with a copy of the Constitution.
EPA/Kim Ludbrook
South Africa’s constitution has been amended 17 times already. But, the procedure for doing so is onerous.