The draft Land Tenure Security Bill – that will close loopholes in the existing legislation – has been published for public comment from today. The bill is aimed at protecting the rights of people living and working on farms.
According to a statement released by the rural development department many farm workers had previously been inhumanely treated, denied their basic human rights and had been victims of arbitrary evictions.
It says the new bill will provide a better life for millions of farm workers throughout the country.
The bill sets out to separate the rights and obligations of farm-workers in terms of the existing labour legislation and those rights that a farm-worker has when living on the farm as a tenant
The bill provides for state assistance in the settlement on alternative land for people who have been forced to leave the farms they have lived on and gives the department the right to acquire land for resettlement purposes.
The department says the widespread public outcry over the way that some farm workers are treated by farmers highlights the fact that legislation needs to urgently be amended.
The new bill addresses loopholes that exist in the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and the Land Reform (Land Tenants) Act.
The department has invited public comment on the bill and responses can be sent to: landtenuresecuritybill@ruraldevelopment.gov.za
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