Abstract
This study provides a broad overview of the land restitution process in South Africa and the associated valuation implications. The historical and legal basis of land restitution is described, followed by a brief review of progress with the implementation of this policy. Recommendations on how the land restitution process may be improved are provided. A discussion of valuation problems and the available guidelines on valuation for land restitution follows. The valuation approaches employed in three land restitution cases are described and analyzed. The study concludes that, despite problems, the restitution process is progressing well and that administrators, legal professionals and valuers are contributing to its success.
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Notes
- 1.
The following studies are representative examples: Bromley (n.d.) discusses the land rights movements in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and South America. Griffiths (2006) provides a comprehensive overview of land tenure and land policy for indigenous peoples in Latin America, while De Janvry and Sadoulet (2002) reviews 70 years of land reforms in the region and gives guidelines for future land access programmes. León (2005) focuses on land restitution in Guatemala and suggests how the process may be improved. Cotula et al. (2006) analyze poverty reduction and the requisite policy to improve land access in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Flores-Bórquez and Grover (2005) discuss appropriate land restitution policy to restore past expropriation in Chile and Canada. Jacobs (2001) focuses on the role of women in land reform, while Anon (2005) includes the plight of all indigenous peoples. Roth (2002) summarizes general land issues and policies in Southern Africa, while Carey Miller and Pope (2000) analyze the land reform process in South Africa from a legal perspective. Many organizations that focus on land tenure and related problems are referenced by the International Land Coalition (2006).
- 2.
“Apartheid government” is a colloquial term for the government that came to power during the 1948 Whites-only elections in South Africa. This government designed and implemented the apartheid system, where people were segregated on a racial basis. It was replaced after the first democratic elections in 1994.
- 3.
One hectare equals approximately 2.47 acres, or approximately 1.17 morgen.
- 4.
Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991.
- 5.
The meaning of “racially based discrimination” is set out in a legal context by Pienaar (2005).
- 6.
The date of 19 June 1913 is significant because the Native Land Act came into operation on 20 June 1913. This was the forerunner of apartheid and eventually land access by Blacks was restricted to about 13% of the land in South Africa (Anon, 2006a; Anon, 2006c). Patterson (2003) argues that the legislators attempted to prevent claims based on aboriginal title by providing a cut-off date of 1913. However, one successful restitution claim may have been brought on this basis – the Richtersveld case. The Richtersveld is a sparsely populated region in the north-west of South Africa, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. This land restitution claim (see De Bruin, 2005a,b,c) has been described as the largest and most expensive land claim in South African history. It is also the longest running and by the end of 2005 had lasted six years. This community was deprived of their land in 1922 and the state, through its company Alexkor, has been mining the diamond-rich land and coastline of the Richtersveld since then. In stark contrast, the Richtersveld community has been living in relative poverty. Crucially, the expropriation in 1922 was on racial grounds. This entitled the community to claim restitution of the land, or compensation, in terms of section 25(7) of the Constitution of South Africa (see Exhibit 1). However, the state disputed the claim. The case was heard by the Land Claims Court, the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court before the state acknowledged that the community is entitled to compensation and to restitution of their land. However, agreement could not be reached on the settlement. The community rejected an offer of shares in the mining company Alexkor and pointed to the billions of rands [dollars] worth of diamonds that had been mined on the land since 1922. They demand a share of those proceeds also. This could amount to hundreds of millions of rands [a few hundred million dollars]. However, as regards the land, shares in Alexkor may be acceptable, instead of restitution. The case had not been settled at the time of writing and further appeals were expected. If Patterson (2003) is correct, this case may have opened the door to other claims based on aboriginal title.
- 7.
A conversion rate of $1 to R700 has been used throughout.
- 8.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an index based on the prices of a basket of consumer goods and services. It is updated monthly and published by the Central Statistical Services of South Africa. Land price indices for regions, farm types, agricultural sectors or overall LPIs are published in the Abstract of agricultural statistics (see South Africa, 1999). These indices have not met with wide acceptance among valuers, but, when available for a region, are useful in estimating a basic price range, for example when a bank has to consider a loan application.
- 9.
South Africa's cadastral system for registration of land parcels is based on a grid designated alphabetically, for example, “IQ”, “IR”, “IS” and so on. Within each grid block, farms are numbered sequentially. The farm 385 KQ is number 385 in grid block KQ. The name “Schilpadnest” is an additional descriptor.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Mr Frank Belling, Professional Valuer registered in terms of the Property Valuers Profession Act, 2000, for providing access to cases and for his ongoing contribution. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and detailed input.
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Ghyoot, V. (2008). Land Restitution and Restitution Valuation in South Africa. In: Simons, R.A., Malmgren, R., Small, G. (eds) Indigenous Peoples and Real Estate Valuation. Research Issues in Real Estate, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77938-6_9
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