Should Race, Nationality and Gender Still Be Required for Land Audits?

Issued by Ismail Joosub on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation on 13/01/2025:

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently signed into law the Deeds Registries Amendment Act of 2024, a significant piece of legislation aimed at modernising South Africa’s land registration processes. This Act amends the Deeds Registries Act of 1937, seeking to streamline deed registration procedures and enhance uniformity in the system. Section 6 introduces a notable amendment to section 10 of the principal Act, specifically adding section 10(1)(t). This section authorises the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to regulate the collection of personal information concerning race, gender, citizenship and nationality for statistical and land audit purposes.

Purpose and Use of Personal Information

The Deeds Registries Amendment Act specifies that the collection of sensitive personal data such as race, gender, citizenship and nationality will be solely for statistical purposes and land audits. In particular, the information will be used to monitor land ownership patterns and identify potential imbalances or historical inequities in land distribution. Importantly, the law guarantees that this data will not be made available to the public. It will only be used internally by the relevant departments for governmental purposes, such as land audits and statistical reporting.

Despite this assurance of confidentiality, the provision still raises concerns about whether the state should continue to collect such information, especially when the country’s democratic principles emphasise equality and non-racialism.

Constitutional Considerations

South Africa’s Constitution enshrines the values of equality, human dignity and freedom from discrimination. Section 9(1) of the Constitution states that all people are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection and benefit of the law. However, section 9(2) allows for affirmative….continue reading this article HERE.

Brigitte Mabandla: {2004 – 2009} Brigitte Mabandla served as Minister of Arts and Culture from 2004 to 2009. She focused on promoting the arts and cultural diversity in South Africa, supporting various initiatives to enhance the visibility of local artists.