Civil society organisation Corruption Watch is poised to release a comprehensive report today, delving into the intricate relationship between land, corruption, and discrimination in Africa.
Titled “The Story of the Marginalised,” the report particularly highlights the challenges faced by individuals residing and working in farming communities, with a specific focus on the Western Cape.
Senior Researcher at Corruption Watch, Melusi Ncala, emphasised the critical need to comprehend the nature of progress made in addressing land issues. Notably, Ncala underscored the stagnancy apparent in the circumstances of these communities over the past seven to eight decades.
“We need to be able to understand that if we say that we’re dealing with land issues, if we say that there’s progress being made, what’s that progress? In 70-80 years, little has changed from then until now because what you find in these farming communities is that people are still struggling more or less the same way,” Ncala stressed.
The forthcoming report, according to Ncala, sheds light on the profound challenges arising from corruption’s influence on the redistribution of land, tenure security, and the restitution of land to those who have laid claim to it since the 1913 Land Act.
“We realised that there are some serious problems in terms of how corruption is impeding on redistribution, tenure security, and restoring land to those who are claiming land that they lost from the 1913 Land Act,” Ncala further elaborated.
