REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA COMBINED SECOND PERIODIC REPORT UNDER THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLE`S RIGHTS and INITIAL REPORT UNDER THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA National Assembly148 which concerned an important question relating to the role of the public and public participation in the legislative process. CHAPTER 2: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS Article 14: Right to property 231. The right to property is enshrined in section 25 of the Constitution.149 In essence, section 25 provides that property may not be expropriated by the state except where the expropriation is in terms of a law of general application and is for a public purpose or in the public interest. Where an expropriation meets these criteria, the state must pay compensation to the former owner. The right to property and land remains an issue that evokes strong, and often diverse, reactions in South Africa. At the core of these reactions is the question of land ownership which remains a reflection of the inequality that pervades the South African society. 232. As a result of past discriminatory practices, most of the country’s commercial farm land is in the hands of the minority white population. Thus as stated in the First Periodic Report, it is in this context that the South African government has been engaged in a programme to effect land restitution, redistribution and reform. The administration of restitution programme faces numerous challenges including the lack of information and documentation, competing claims, disputes with land owners about the validity of claims, land owners who are unwilling to sell, and high land prices. In essence, the focus is on reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives Land Act. 233. Land remains a critical resource in the construction of an inclusive economy. It is through land that we can create sustainable livelihoods, eradicate poverty and create decent employment in our rural areas. 234. The Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform was created in 2009, in line with the Polokwane resolutions. For the first time in its history, the country would have a ministry dedicated to the social and economic development of rural South Africa; committed to ensuring that South Africans residing in rural areas enjoyed the same benefits as their urban cousins, so that that they too were covered by the blanket of human rights and basic dignity guaranteed in our Constitution. Following its establishment, the new ministry immediately embarked on an intensive process to define and conceptualise what rural development should be, and to provide a framework of how it should be implemented. Government’s plan for developing rural areas, the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) is aimed specifically at curing the blight of poverty by the creation of vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities. 148 2006 (6) SA 416 (CC) S 25 “(1) No one may be deprived of property except in terms of law of general application, and no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property.” 149 68