Decolonisation and comparative land reform with a special focus on Africa

Abstract

One of the principles guiding the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 was the need to eradicate colonialism and to ensure the total emancipation of African territories and its peoples. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights adopted in 1981 grants all peoples the right to self-determination, through which to freely determine their political status and pursue their social and economic development. The last two African countries to gain independence from apartheid and white minority rule, namely Namibia and South Africa, have taken different approaches to land and tenure reform. The year 2013 marked 100 years since the enactment of the Natives Land Act 27 of 1913 in South Africa that led to the indigenous majority population having access to only 13% of the land while the white minority had access to 87% of the land. The year 1913 is also the current cut-off point for recognising land claims. The South African government has recently taken initiatives aimed at improving the pace of land reform, which currently stand at 5% of the land being transferred to black South Africans against a target of delivering 30% by 2014. While the government has called for patience in this regard, some urgent intervention is required, lest South Africans lose patience and undertake land invasions on a sustained basis.