Foreword from the Belgian Ambassador

Foreword from the Belgian Ambassador

Jan Mutton

For several years now, the Belgian Government has been supportive of South Africa's land reform programme in general and of Restitution in particular. This support so far mainly focused on the communication campaign to inform eligible claimants of the deadline of 31 December 1998 for lodging claims. It, furthermore, focused on the acceleration of the validation and verification process of claims lodged with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights. This Belgian programme included the development of a Settlement and Implementation Support Strategy for beneficiaries of land reform, which has been laid down in the present publication.

Indeed, successful land reform involves much more than the restoration and redistribution of land. The
Settlement and Implementation Support Strategy is based on the principle of land reform as a national
development priority. It therefore constitutes a major part of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa. Its success is everyone's business!

A successful area-based approach complementing municipal integrated development plans furthers the holistic approach which is needed to meet the challenges of land reform.

To complement the Settlement and Implementation Support Strategy, Belgium, together with all stakeholders, has recently developed a programme focusing on capacity-building of officials and other stakeholders to better implementation, monitor and assess the implementation of land reform policies. This programme, which still requires final approval from the Department of Land Affairs, will improve the flow of information between beneficiaries and decision-makers, providing the relevant authorities with the necessary data to continue a dynamic process. It will ensure the necessary feedback of lessons learned to enhance services to all land reform beneficiaries.

Jan Mutton, Belgian Ambassador in South Africa