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Over two decades, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has been responsible for processing and resolving land claims for tens of thousands of labour tenants. The 1996 Labour Tenants Act guaranteed title deeds for people who were labour tenants, and the deadline to submit claims ended in 2001. The department's target for 2024/25 is to resolve a further 268 claims, but it will take longer than 30 years before all cases are resolved.
The Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has faced underperformance since 2002 due to a lack of capacity within the department and claims getting lost. In 2015, the department admitted that it did not have a full database of outstanding cases and implemented a "lost claims" strategy. However, progress is slow, and some farm owners are reluctant to cooperate with the department.
In 2019, the Constitutional Court ordered the appointment of a Special Master of Labour Tenants to help speed up the claims process. Prof Richard Levin was appointed to the post, but there have been more delays since his appointment. The department initially challenged the court's decision to appoint a Special Master, but failed. Some regional branches still do not have staff dedicated to labour tenants.
Another challenge has been changing the way the department approaches labour tenant claims. Since 2002, the department has dealt with labour tenants in the same way it deals with farm dwellers, leading to land acquisition from farmers and the creation of Communal Property Associations (CPAs) where labour tenants and farm dwellers are members together.
The Department has admitted in court that it has been using land restitution and land reform programs, which are governed by different legislation, to resolve labour tenant cases. Levin has faced resistance when implementing new procedures that will bring the process closer to what is envisaged by the legislation.
The Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA), which together with labour tenants brought the litigation that led to the appointment of the Special Master, attends quarterly hearings in the Land Court with the department and Special Master. AFRA's strategy manager, Siya Sithole, believes that the department has not shown any signs of embracing the Constitutional Court order that compelled the department to prioritize the processing of outstanding claims.
