Chapter 4 Learning from experience: An overview of the evidence: Reviewing Restitution, LRAD and Commonage from a SIS perspective

3 Restitution 3.10 Provincial consultations 3.10.2 Functional alignment and spatial integration

Key issues and constraints All forums raised issues regarding the functional alignment of government agencies in particular, but also articulation with other agencies such as banks and commodity organisations. A fundamental problem nationally seems to be the lack of integration, which manifests itself in a variety of ways. A lack of co-ordination within RLCCs Within RLCCs there is a lack of co-ordination between the units that are required to settle the claims and the Post-Settlement Support Units (PSSUs) which coordinate settlement and implementation support. The political pressure to settle claims has resulted in many claims being legally settled without development plans, functional legal entities or clarity about membership, rights and benefits. This leaves under-resourced PSSUs having to address key issues that have been poorly addressed in settlement agreements. This contributes to delays in the implementation of settlement agreements and is often the stimulus for conflict with long-term impacts. A lack of alignment between RLCCs and PRLOs None of the provinces appear to have achieved effective integration between the two branches and, in most instances, no joint planning takes place between them. A general lack of alignment between PLROs, RLCCs and PDoAs Limpopo and the Western Cape appear to be the only provinces where reasonably effective working relationships have been developed between PLROs, RLCCs and PDoAs. In the Western Cape, the PLRO and the PDoA establish project management teams for each land reform project. In Limpopo, there is an agreement that the PDoA undertakes all post-settlement or transfer support. Nevertheless, there still appears to remain a problem of limited consultation in the broader planning and budgeting components. In other provinces, e.g. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, there was a lack of close collaboration at a district and project level in spite of agreements and MOUs between the PLRO and the PDoA. An inability to ensure adherence to agreements Where various stakeholders have been involved in planning processes, problems are usually encountered when trying to ensure that parties stick to the commitments they have made. Weak linkages between land reform and municipalities This issue was highlighted by most forums. There are contradictory views on this matter. Municipalities said PLROs and RLCCs consult directly with the communities and do not draw the municipalities in until the project is in its final stages of planning, or even after the plans have been finalised. PLROs and RLCCs said they have been reluctant to hand over the funds for the implementation of some of the projects because of the lack of financial management capacity and the lack of understanding of land reform in municipalities. The results are that IDPs often do not include land reform projects, and RLCCs and PLROs retain control over projects even when they do not have the capacity to implement them. The parties then tend to blame one another; little or no project implementation takes place; and there is a lack of alignment between the budgets of both line departments and municipalities. A lack of political will A number of provinces highlighted the lack of strong, informed political leadership and authority with respect to land reform and SIS. This meant that land reform and PSS are not prioritised in the provinces or the municipalities.