Land Matters and Rural Development:2024

Abstract

The most important land-related developments in the course of 2024 are set out. In the report period much activity occurred within the legislative domain by way of formulating new measures on the one hand and amending and extending existing legislation, on the other. Interesting and important judgments were handed down, especially by the Supreme Court of Appeal, in relation to restitution. The urgent need for land for residential purposes, especially within urban and peri-urban areas, was again highlighted in unlawful occupation and eviction judgments. Tenure security in rural areas remains elusive, with continued eviction of rural dwellers from farm and rural land, with barriers to accessing communal land by women remaining prevalent. The note deals with redistribution, restitution and tenure reform developments in the land reform arena, coupled with developments providing for the operation of the Land Court, amendments with respect to deeds and registries and regulations dealing with Old Order Rights.