Land matters and rural development : 2014 (1)

Abstract

Leading up to the 2014 pre-election period, land reform matters received more attention than in the preceding two years. The centenary of the 1913 Land Act also drew attention to the plight of many people who are still living in dismal conditions (see eg Nxumalo ‘Children who don’t see the sky’ Mail & Guardian 2013-08-23-29) 20). New Bills to speed up the land reform process were introduced and Parliament approved the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill [B35B-2013] to allow additional land claims to be lodged until 30 June 2019 (see the discussion infra). The courts also delivered important decisions pertaining to land restitution, tenure reform and land use planning. In this note on land, the most important measures and court decisions pertaining to restitution, land redistribution, land reform, housing, land use planning, deeds, sectional titles, agriculture and rural development are discussed.