A national survey on evictions conducted in 2005 showed that more people living on farms had been evicted in the 10 years of democracy (1994-2003) than in the 10 years before this, and only one percent of these evictions involved legal proceedings and a court order (as required by the Constitution). Also, only one farm owner was prosecuted for illegal eviction. There was therefore little inclination to implement ESTA or the Labour Reform (Labour Tenants) Act of 1996.

In 2010 the government introduced the Land Tenure Security Bill which was intended to replace both ESTA and the Labour Reform (Labour Tenants) Act. In doing so the government acknowledged that ESTA had not been effective in preventing farm evictions. Apart from poor enforcement, many farm owners had found ways to avoid the legislation or find loopholes in it.

The Land Tenure Security Bill, if enacted, would provide for the continued protection of the rights of people living and working on farms. It would provide a support framework for sustainable livelihoods for farm workers that would, (amongst other things) address the need for sustained food production and state assistance in the settlement on alternative land. Importantly the Bill would ensure that there is a clear legal distinction between the rights of farm dweller as employees, and their rights as occupants.

People who would be covered by the new law include those living and working on farms and those associated with them, as well as farm owners and their agents.

The Bill addresses the rights of these stakeholders.

The Land Tenure Security Bill will also provide a framework for the following:

• The management of evictions
• Expropriation
• The management of resettlement units and agri-villages
• The establishment of a land rights management board
• Dispute resolution

In mid-2011 the Bill was sent back to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform for reconsideration after stakeholders representing both farm owners and farm dwellers raised a range of concerns.