What is going wrong in South Africa’s post-apartheid land reform programme, and how can its failings be addressed? Twenty-two years after the transition to democracy and the commencement of land reform, there is a great deal of lived experience to reflect upon and a rich literature to draw on. Here I offer a diagnosis of failures, suggest a new narrative for land reform, and offer some provocations around alternative policies. The paper argues that the logic of land reform as a whole needs to be re-thought, rather than merely tinkering with details. Read more…