1913 Natives' Land Act Centenary

Reversing the legacy of the Notorious 1913 Natives' Land Act

The year 2013 marks 100 years since the Natives Land Act of 1913 which was enacted in South Africa. The Act became law on the 19th of June 1913 limiting African land ownership to 7% which later increased to 13% through the 1936 Native Trust and Land Act of South Africa. The Act restricted black people from buying or occupying land except as employees of a white master. It however gave white people ownership of 87% of land and leaving black people to scramble for a mere 13%.

It is against this backdrop that black people found themselves displaced in their own land hence Sol Plaatjie's famous quote "Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth,".

That piece of legislation made life horrendous for the black populace until the Commission of Restitution was established in 1994 to provide equitable redress to victims of racially motivated land dispossession, in line with the provisions of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994). In the year 2013 the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform will be marking the centenary of this act. The theme for the Project 2013 is "Reversing the legacy of 1913 Natives Land Act".

1913 Natives Land Act Centenary related documents

1. A Better Life: April Newsletter; The 1913 Natives' Land Act has left a legacy that we must reverse!
2. "Make the Plan" Number of events and the total number of people who pledged: 06 April 2013
3. Embrace and Disgrace Pamphlets: 24 April 2013
4. Rural Economy Transformation Conference "Reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives' Land Act", 5-6 October 2012
5. Reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives' Land Act - a Pledge. 5-6 October 2012
6. The Natives' Land Act no. 27 of 1913
7. Advertisement: Disgrace! Legacy of a painful past