Applying the Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration Concept to South Africa

Christopher Williams-Wynn
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Christopher Williams-Wynn: Surveyor-General, Eastern Cape, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, East London, Polokwane 5200, South Africa

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: What potential will the fit-for-purpose land administration concept have of working in the Republic of South Africa? This question is asked against the existence of a high-quality cadastre covering most of the South African landmass. However, a large proportion of the people living in South Africa live outside of this secure land tenure system. Many citizens and immigrants reside on communal land, in informal settlements, in resettled communities, in off-register housing schemes, and as farm dwellers, labour tenants and other occupants of commercial farms. Reasonable estimates suggest that there are more than 5 million land occupations that exist outside the formal land tenure system and hence outside the formal land administration system. This paper looks at the current bifurcated system and considers how the application of the fit-for-purpose land administration system can expand the existing cadastral system and provide security of tenure that is beneficial and acceptable to all. It demonstrates that, not only could it work, but it is also considered to be necessary. This paper uses South Africa as a case study to demonstrate how adjustments to institutional, legal and spatial frameworks will develop a fully inclusive, sufficiently accurate land administration system that fits the purpose for which it is envisioned. These country-specific proposals may well be of international interest to assist with the formulation of fit-for-purpose land administration systems being developed in other countries.

Keywords: fit-for-purpose land administration; spatial; legal; and institutional frameworks; land tenure security; pro-poor land recordation; land governance reform; cost effectiveness; innovative technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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