With the critical topic "The Land Question and Labour Tenancy in South Africa Today", the event brought together leading intellectuals, students and community members to engage with the enduring issues surrounding land ownership, rural labour and socio-economic justice in post-apartheid South Africa.
Hosted in honour of struggle stalwart Raymond Mhlaba, a leading figure in the country's liberation struggle, the public lecture not only paid tribute to his legacy but also reaffirmed the importance of addressing the country's most pressing socio-economic issues.
Mandela University continues to foster critical discourse on matters of national importance, drawing on its namesake’s legacy of justice, freedom and equality for all South Africans.
Prominent political economist and expert on land and governance, Professor Richard Levin (right), delivered the keynote address, into the historical roots of land dispossession and its contemporary manifestations, particularly the precarious position of labour tenants who continue to face land insecurity despite post-apartheid land reforms.
Prof Levin traced the origins of labour tenancy to colonial and apartheid policies, which marginalised Black South Africans from meaningful land ownership while entrenching exploitative labour relations.
“South Africa is a particular form of settler colony. It has been described as “colonialism of a special type” within liberal, national liberatory and socialist discourses. The fact is that the arrival of Dutch Settlers at the Cape in 1652, sparked a series of land wars between settlers and indigenous South Africans, leading to the genocide of the San,” he said.
“The European Settlers waged wars against the Khoi and Xhosa in the Cape, before conflict between the Dutch and the British led to further expansion of Boer settlers and the British, later engulfing the entire sub-continent in a series of bitter land wars. This is irrefutable, as is the assertion that South Africa is a form of settler colony and society shaped by the expropriation of the land of indigenous people.”
He argued that, despite democratic gains, the land issue remains unresolved, with millions still locked in poverty and insecurity on commercial farms.
“Major concessions were made by the ANC during the negotiations period leading to democracy. Land dispossession was central to colonialism and apartheid in South Africa and it was pivotal in the evolution of the ANC following the establishment of the Union of South Africa,” he said.
“While the National Liberation movement facilitated political settlement leading to constitutional democracy, economic liberation failed through flawed economic policy choices and a top-down approach. An “elite pact” reflecting the hegemony of neo-liberal policy formulation and implementation excluded the majority of black South Africans from socio-economic liberation.”
Prof Levin called for a renewed push for land reform that addresses both restitution and redistribution while also protecting the rights of farmworkers and labour tenants.
Dr Dineo Sikosana centred her response to Prof Levin’s address by highlighting the restitutive and restorative process of the land question. Dr Skosana said Prof Levin’s paper resonated with her, particularly with her work in mining, and questions around land rights; which supports her own argument of dispossession being a continuous lived experience in South Africa.
“Prof Levin’s paper demonstrates that dispossession is not just an occurrence in the Colonial and Apartheid period, but an ongoing experience for communities, particularly labour tenant families who face evictions,” she said.
Dr Skosana highlighted the spiritual and cultural significance of land to African communities, noting that the current market-driven land reform policies fail to capture the deep relationship between land and identity.
She stressed the importance of spiritual stability by reading an excerpt from Solomon Plaatjie’s Native Life, written shortly after the 1913 Land Act was passed.
“Without the land, where is one buried? Where is one’s land and where is one returned?”, demonstrating how the question posed by Plaatjie is still relevant over 100 years later.
Anthropology and Sociology senior lecturer at Mandela University, Dr Mnqobi Ngubane, provided a second response, focusing on the socio-economic realities faced by labour tenants today.
A political sociologist specializing in rural development, Dr Ngubane pointed out that land reform has often overlooked the plight of farmworkers and labour tenants, many of whom live in poverty with little access to services or legal protections. He advocated for more inclusive policies that protect rural labourers' rights while also advancing broader land redistribution.
The lecture sparked a robust discussion among the audience, with many raising questions about the role of the state, private landowners and civil society in addressing these challenges.
The lecture concluded with a call to action, urging policymakers to implement more equitable land reforms that ensure justice for those still affected by historical dispossession.