Peter Setou, chief executive of the Vumelana Advisory Fund, said: "It is regrettable that land reform was not mentioned as a priority area and appears to have been relegated to the periphery, when in fact it should be a priority given the drastic, systemic slowdown in land reform."
He added: "Vumelana maintains that land reform should be a primary focus of the administration rather than an afterthought."
Setou highlighted the need for scale, saying: "We need to achieve scale in supporting more land reform beneficiaries to put their land to productive use. As we look ahead to the Budget Speech, we are hopeful for a robust financial commitment to land reform to truly drive an empowering land reform programme that is well resourced to break through current bottlenecks and turn stagnant policies into the lived reality of the promise of land reform for South Africans."
He also emphasised that executing existing policies must be the priority:"The priority for 2026 must be the execution of existing policies and addressing shortcomings already identified in several government-commissioned reports, including the High-Level Panel report, commonly known as the Motlanthe Report."
The Fund noted that while the economy shows signs of recovery, particularly in agriculture, the slow pace of land reform and underdeveloped rural infrastructure is threatening long-term investment and driving joblessness.
Setou said: "The focus for 2026 should be a shift from policy debates to the implementation of existing policies and addressing some of the shortfalls that have been aptly defined through a number of reports commissioned by government itself, such as the High-Level Panel report, or best known as the Motlanthe Report."
He stressed the importance of coordinated, measurable action: "The outlook further demands transparent and evidence-based interventions to deal with the challenges impacting successful land reform. Closer collaboration between sector players and other key stakeholders is key to avoiding the repetition of past mistakes."
"Sustainable land reform is a constitutional imperative. It also remains one of the key interventions that can ensure restored land is put to productive use and that jobs are created, particularly in rural areas, if implemented correctly."
