Extension of Security of Tenure Law could trigger social crisis – top academic’s warning

As usual, it is a case where a Bill is being pushed into Law without a balanced view, with a potential for unintended consequences.
This is what well-respected academic, Prof Andries du Toit, of the University of Western Cape’s Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas), has warned about the provisions in the draft Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment Bill, which was tabled in Parliament last week.  Du Toit points out that the Bill fails to address the core problem of rural workers: namely the mushrooming of poorly serviced informal settlements outside of farms that have grown as more workers are evicted.
The lopsidedness of the bill in its current format is that it categorises some farm dwellers as primary occupiers, while others, such as wives and children, are considered secondary occupiers who can be more easily evicted, Du Toit argues.
The current act categorises some farm dwellers as the main or primary occupiers while others, such as wives and children, are considered secondary occupiers who can be more easily evicted, especially upon the death of ‘‘primary occupiers’’.
The bill defines an occupier as a person rightfully residing on land which belongs to another person and who does not use the land except for subsistence. It will exclude those earning an income in excess of a prescribed amount, which critics say will impose a difficult choice on workers of either getting better paying jobs or keeping their houses.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is in the process of finalising a regulatory impact assessment of the bill to determine is likely financial implications.