Civil society outlines 13 priorities for equitable access to land

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, alongside civil society organisations and social movements from across South Africa, has contributed to the development of 13 priorities intended to shape the proposed Equitable Access to Land Bill.

The priorities emerged from a two-day Civil Society National Workshop on Equitable Access to Land that took place in September 2026, in Cape Town. The workshop brought together more than 50 participants from organisations and communities across all nine provinces. The gathering created space for those working across rural and urban land struggles to develop a collective vision for legislation that advances land justice.

In May 2026, Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso announced that the government was developing an Equitable Access to Land Bill. Although initially expected to be released for public comment in June, the Bill had not been published by October 2026.

Section 25(5) of South Africa's Constitution requires the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures to enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis. Yet, three decades into democracy, national legislation giving effect to this constitutional obligation remains outstanding.

The proposed Bill presents an opportunity to address this gap and confront the continuing consequences of historical dispossession, spatial inequality, and landlessness.

The 13 priorities

The participating organisations identified the following priorities for the proposed legislation:

Recognise the social and ecological functions of land: Land must be recognised not only for its economic value but also for its social and ecological importance.

Prioritise well-located land: Land redistribution must address spatial apartheid and historical dispossession, giving people access to land close to opportunities and essential services.

Set targets for equitable access: The legislation must establish clear targets for broadening access to land and define what equitable outcomes should look like.

Advance dignity, identity, culture, and belonging: Access to land must recognise its importance to people's dignity, cultural identity, and sense of belonging.

Prioritise women: The Bill must establish tangible, enforceable measures to advance women's access to land rather than relying on broad commitments to gender equality.

Ensure secure tenure: Land redistribution must be accompanied by legally secure rights to occupy and use the land.

Prioritise landless and impoverished people: Equitable access must place the needs and interests of those most excluded from land ownership and access at the centre.

Advance procedural justice: Landless, impoverished, and vulnerable communities must participate meaningfully in land reform decisions that affect them.

Protect the right to occupy land: The legislation must recognise land's role in meeting people's needs for housing, food production, livelihoods, conservation, dignity and culture, rather than prioritising profit.

Prioritise marginalised groups: Land redistribution must respond to the needs of historically marginalised people, including women, LGBTQIA+ communities, people with disabilities, orphans and widows.

Ensure transparent decision-making: The Bill must establish fair and transparent processes for selecting beneficiaries and allocating land, with meaningful public participation.

Strengthen monitoring and accountability: Clear reporting requirements, public accountability mechanisms and consequences for non-compliance must be established.

Secure existing land rights: The legislation must protect and strengthen access to land for farm workers, restitution claimants and labour tenants, whether on their existing land or suitable alternative land.

From constitutional promise to meaningful change

For the Nelson Mandela Foundation, equitable access to land is necessary, desirable, and possible.

Land is not only about ownership. It is connected to dignity, identity, belonging, livelihoods, economic participation, and people's ability to shape the communities and society in which they live.

South Africa's Constitution places an obligation on the state to foster conditions that enable citizens to gain equitable access to land. For the Foundation, the challenge is to move that promise from principle to practice, particularly for landless and impoverished communities, women and those who continue to experience the consequences of historical dispossession and spatial inequality.

This requires legislation and implementation mechanisms that are clear, transparent, and accountable, protect existing rights, and place those most affected by land exclusion at the Centre of the process.

Meaningful land reform is therefore not simply about correcting the past. It is part of building a more just and equitable future.

Participating organisations and communities

The following organisations, movements and communities were represented in the collective engagement:

Abahlali baseMjondolo (ABM); Afesis; Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD); Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC); Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA); BlaqChild Development Foundation; Carolusberg Community in Northern Cape; Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS); Development Action Group (DAG); Dludluma Community in Mpumalanga; Housing Assembly; Inner-City Federation (ICF); Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape (PLAAS); Intlungu YaseMatyotyombeni; Inyanda National Land Movement (Inyanda); Jeppestown Community in Gauteng; Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA); Land Accountability and Research Centre (LARC); LandNNES; Legal Resources Centre (LRC); Lithemba Lethu Projects; Cederberg Emerging Farmer Forum; Madibogo Village in the North West; Mankweng Community in Limpopo; Marlenique Farm Community in Western Cape; Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU); Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF); Nkuzi Development Association (Nkuzi); Public Affairs Research Unit (PARI); Reclaim the City (RTC); Sekhukhune Environmental Justice Network (SEJN); Singabalapha; Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI-SA); Support Centre for Land Change (SCLC); Surplus People's Project (SPP); The Farm Dweller and Labour Tenant Alliance; Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE); Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement; Vulamasango Singene (Vulamasango); Women on Farms Project (WFP); Zabalaza Pathways Institute (ZPI).