Biz Book Club Reviews - Land Matters

Excited to finally share this side-project with my network. If you read books on?#civicleadership?or?#business?and you're often on the lookout for books with powerful insights then, hopefully, this will help you find your next?#businessbook?or?#thoughtleadershipbook.

About the Book Club

Over the last year, I have been very grateful to have been a part of this business book club with these incredible business leaders:?Katleho Mohono,?Cikida Gcali-Mabusela,?@Adam Collier,?Ninel Lara Musson, and?Dylan Bosman. We've read over 20 books on business and leadership and our most recent read is Land Matters, wherein the Adv. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi tackles the past, present, and future of the land question in South Africa.

Going back in history, he demonstrates how Africans’ communal systems of landownership were used by colonial rulers to deny that Africans owned the land at all. He explores the effects of the Land Acts, Bantustans, and forced removals. And he evaluates the ANC’s policies on land throughout the struggle years, during the negotiations of the 1990s, and in government.

Land Matters unpacks the government’s achievements and failures in land redistribution, restitution, and tenure reform, and makes suggestions for what needs to be done in future. The book also explores the power of chiefs, the tension between communal landownership and the desire for private title, the failure of the willing-seller, willing-buyer approach, women and land reform, the role of banks, and the debates around amending the Constitution. Steering clear of the simplistic and polarising terms of the land debate, Ngcukaitobi argues for a return to the nuanced constitutional requirements of justice and equity in South Africa’s land policy.

Thoughtful and provocative, Land Matters sheds light on one of the most topical, complex and urgent issues in South Africa today. This book is particularly significant for me as I delve further into how?#FinancialServicesProviders?and?#Banks?in particularly re-examine their role in civil society amidst?#ESG?and?#Social?Impact deliberations. Below are some of our views about the book from our Book Club members!

Q1: Describe what this book was about for you in 1 word.

Dylan: ????????????Academic

Nontokozo: ????Provocative!

Cikida: ???????????Historical

Adam: ????????????Complicated

Q2: Why? (For above question)

Dylan: ????????????Without a legal background, I feel like this book needs to be studied not just read - perhaps a more apt name would have been "Land [Legal] Matters". Barring the introduction, there is a tremendous amount of "legalese" (jumping into cases and court documents) without enough contextualization and storytelling.

Nontokozo: ????I think if young people (especially) are seeking to understand the land question and its complexities in South Africa. This is a definite must read!

Cikida: ???????????I learned so much about how the historic context and design of South Africa has permeated into the country we live in today. It was enlightening to realise how the inequality we experience today was by design of the colonial policies and it’s unfortunate that we have not been able to reverse so of the past damages.

Adam:?????????????The History behind the last few hundred years is complicated and the topic is very politicized. Finding a just and fair solution seems like an impossible task

Q3: I'd recommend someone read this book if...

Dylan: ????????????If their work is directly related to property in SA and they need a legal historical context. Unfortunately, this isn't a book I would recommend to any South African who would like to get to grips with land matters in SA, it isn't accessible enough.

Nontokozo:?????Someone is seeking the context regarding the land appropriation and redistribution question since, in Land Matters, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi does a stellar job in tackling the past, present, and future of the land question in South Africa.

Cikida:?????????????You’re looking to learn more about why land is distributed the way it is in South Africa or if you have a keen interest in homelands and their ownership structures.

Adam:?????????????They want to know south African history and wanting to know the challenges behind land in the country

Q4: I would read this book again if/when...

Dylan: ????????????I would read this book again if the work I did had a direct link to property in SA and it was important for me to understand the legal intricacies of how property law has developed in SA.

Nontokozo: ????I would read this book again if seeking to evaluate the ANC’s policies on land throughout the struggle years, during the negotiations of the 1990s, and in government. Land Matters unpacks the government’s achievements and failures in land redistribution, restitution, and tenure reform, and makes suggestions for what needs to be done in future.

Cikida: ???????????I may not read it again, but I’d refer to it to revisit some of the very interesting anecdotes mentioned in the book.

Adam:?????????????I need to remind myself about history.

Q5: What was the biggest insight/takeaway for you?

Dylan: ????????????The biggest takeaway was the knowledge of how manipulatively traditional law was distorted, or "translated", into British law. Specifically, the motivation behind giving the legal rights of a community's land to one person rather than each individual that made up the community. Corruption at the heart of how our country has developed.

Nontokozo: ????The book also explores the power of chiefs, the tension between communal landownership and the desire for private title, the failure of the willing-seller, willing-buyer approach, women and land reform, the role of banks, and the debates around amending the Constitution. Steering clear of the simplistic and polarizing terms of the land debate, Ngcukaitobi argues for a return to the nuanced constitutional requirements of justice and equity in South Africa’s land policy. Thoughtful and provocative, Land Matters sheds light on one of the most topical, complex, and urgent issues in South Africa today!

Cikida:?????????????History is pivotal. Nothing should be taken at face value without understanding the historical context

Adam:?????????????Finding a fair solution seems like an impossible task. Something needs to happen before it's too late.

If you have any feedback or any great business book recommendations, please share them in the comments below. We'd love to keep working on this to make it a useful resource to you. We're also in the process of finding one or two new members who are entrepreneurs or in business leadership positions, so please reach out to me directly if you would be interested in being a part of the book club. Looking forward to helping you find your next business book!?#BizBookClubReviews?#BookReview #MeetTheBookClub # AboutTheBookClub