Ward 2 Development Forum

Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act

Properties3
descriptionThe 1998 law that decides who will own the land of Farm 39, on which Genadendal, Bereaville, Voorstekraal, Boschmanskloof, and Madiba Park stand. The transfer it provides for has not yet happened.
tagstheme/trancraa, lang/en
aliasesTRANCRAA, Act 94 of 1998, Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act 94 of 1998

8 min read

A working page, open for review

This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this law, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the law in plain language, and it does not give legal advice or speak for the Forum, the municipality, or any other body. The official text, linked under At a glance, is what counts. Before you act on anything here, read the official text or ask the body named under Who to ask. To correct or add to this page, see How to Submit.

Questions for reviewers:

  1. For the Genadendal Transformasie Komitee: does this summary of the Act match the Komitee’s understanding of it? Which of the Komitee’s documents may this page cite?
  2. For Theewaterskloof Municipality: is the description of the municipality’s part under the Act correct?
  3. For anyone with legal training: are the sections cited the right ones, and has the Act been amended since 1998?

The Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act, known as TRANCRAA, is the national law that decides how the land of 23 former mission and “coloured rural” areas passes from the state to the people who live there [IC]. Farm 39, the land on which Genadendal, Bereaville, Voorstekraal, and Boschmanskloof stand, is one of those areas, and Madiba Park stands on it too [IC]. The Act came into force on 2 November 1998 [IC]. For Farm 39, the transfer it provides for has not yet happened [IC]. This page explains the Act. The story of the process on Farm 39 since 2002 is told on TRANCRAA and Farm 39: The Land Transfer Process.

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

  • [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by the official text of the law, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
  • [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from one party’s own documents or statements. It has not been checked against other sources.
  • [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

Sentences without a tag under What it means in the valley are the Forum’s reading of how the rule could apply here. They are not legal advice.

At a glance

Full nameTransformation of Certain Rural Areas Act, 1998
CitationAct 94 of 1998
Made byParliament
Administered byThe national Minister responsible for land reform, through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
In force since2 November 1998
Official textGovernment of South Africa; SAFLII

What it does

  • It replaced an apartheid-era law. Before 1998 the 23 areas were governed by the Rural Areas Act 9 of 1987, under which the state held most of the land in trust for the residents [IC]. TRANCRAA repealed that Act [IC].
  • It splits the land in two. Trust land inside a proclaimed township passes to the municipality [IC]. The rest of the trust land, called the Remainder (mostly commonage and farmland), may be transferred to an entity: the municipality, a Communal Property Association (CPA), or another body the Minister approves [IC].
  • It sets out who counts as a resident. A resident is anyone who ordinarily lived in the area on 2 November 1998, or who was liable for rates or service charges there on that date [IC].
  • It sets a process with deadlines. The Minister starts an 18-month transitional period by notice in the Government Gazette, which can be extended once, by six months [IC]. The municipality, or failing it a committee elected by residents, must say how the entity will be chosen, and then recommend one to the Minister in writing [IC].
  • It protects residents if the municipality receives the land. Under section 4, a municipality that receives the Remainder must give residents a fair say and reasonable preference for access to the land, may not sell or encumber it without the consent of a majority of residents at a public meeting, and must account to residents for money it earns from the land [IC].
  • It leaves the land with the Minister if nothing is decided. Trust land not transferred when the transitional period ends stays with the Minister, who may keep holding it in trust and transfer it later under the Act’s principles [IC].
  • It is a land reform law. In 2014 the Land Claims Court held that TRANCRAA deals with land reform and does not deal with land restitution, which is a separate legal process [IC].

What it means in the valley

On Farm 39. The transitional period for Farm 39 began on 8 July 2009 and ended in January 2011 without a transfer, so the land stayed with the Minister [IC]. In 2026 it is still held in trust, and no receiving entity has been recognised by the government [MS]. A CPA is being set up to receive the land [MS]. Until a transfer happens, title to the Remainder stays with the Minister. That is the root of most of the other rules on this site that land differently on Farm 39: zoning, services, and who may decide about the land.

For services. Theewaterskloof Municipality’s spatial plan says the municipality may not invest in infrastructure on land it does not own [IC]. In Madiba Park the municipality has said it cannot provide full services because the land is not the municipality’s [MS]. Read together with this Act, that means the services question on Farm 39 waits on the transfer. See Madiba Park: Land Status and Basic Services.

For municipal accounts. In 2019 the Western Cape High Court let two Genadendal residents defend claims for unpaid municipal accounts on the ground that their land falls under TRANCRAA and that the Minister holds title [IC]. The court left that question for trial [IC].

For anyone planning something on the land. An initiative that wants to use Farm 39 land (a garden, a nursery, a building, a trail) is dealing with land the Minister holds in trust for residents. The Forum reads this as meaning that use of the land needs the agreement of the trustee and the support of the residents’ elected committee, and that a short-term arrangement should not be mistaken for a right to the land. The Transformasie Komitee reviews every page on this site that touches Farm 39.

In Greyton and Heuwelkroon. The Act does not apply. That land was sold as freehold from 1854 and has never been mission trust land [IC]. See Next Door, Different Rules.

Where it touches this site

Who to ask

  • The national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, through its Western Cape provincial office.
  • The Genadendal Transformasie Komitee, through the moderators.

What is still open

  • Whether the Minister has published any notice for Farm 39 since the transitional period ended in 2011.
  • Whether the CPA being set up has been registered, and when the Minister will decide on a transfer.
  • Whether the Act has been amended since 1998.
  • Whether the 2008 High Court order on Farm 39 still stands, and how it fits with the Act.

Have your say

If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, or hold documents about the Act on Farm 39, contact the moderators through How to Submit.

References

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