SUMMIT ON LAND AND AGRARIAN REFORM
27 - 31ST JULY 2005
NASREC (JOHANNESBURG EXPO CENTRE)
JOHANNESBURG
"SOUTH AFRICANS WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS LAND AND AGRARIAN REFORM"
WHY A SUMMIT ON LAND AND AGRARIAN REFORM?
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
WHY IN 2005?
BUILD-UP TO THE SUMMIT
WHY A SUMMIT ON LAND AND AGRARIAN REFORM?
The Summit was held to draw from international and local experiences on land reform policy and implementation. It has served as a platform to engage in open, frank and honest dialogue on land and agrarian reform within South Africa.
The objectives of the Summit were to:
1. Inform the South African public about progress made in the land and agrarian reform process
2. Acknowledge challenges facing this process
3. To look at "blockages" in implementing land and agrarian reform
4. Affirm commitment to this process
5. To invite South Africans to actively participate in land and agrarian reform
6. To examine the country's land market and how it functions
7. To examine interventions to improve delivery mechanisms
The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, in her budget vote speech to Parliament for the 2005/6 financial year outlined government’s programme of action for the coming financial year. Central to these activities was the issue of access to and use of agricultural land as well as the issue of land reform in general, all of which would culminated in the Summit on Land and Agrarian Reform.
The Summit, along with government's programme of action highlights the 50th celebrations of the Freedom Charter and encapsulates a review of a decade of land and agrarian reform in South Africa, of which the past Land Summit was a central tenet.
The Summit was organised at this stage to:
1. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter
2. To reverse the legacy of the Natives Land Act of 1913 that was promulgated 92 years ago
3. Review access to agricultural land in the past decade while encouraging dialogue amongst key partners and stakeholders
The provincial Departments of Agriculture together with the Department of Land Affairs held provincial summits in the build up to the National Summit.
The Ministry for Agriculture and Land Affairs also publicised the event extensively in the printed and electronic media. Community and regional radio stations, television, on-line and other communication mediums were employed to publicise the Summit.