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The ARD works to challenge undemocratic practices and discriminatory laws through on the ground campaigns; test law reform through cases brought before the courts and; capacity building initiatives for rural communities and activists; participatory research; and other related policy work.
We believe in the power, industriousness and agency of rural communities to express their own needs, articulate their experiences and their policy choices.
We embrace the spirit within which the Constitution protects customary rights, laws and practices. We believe that customary rights, laws and practices have no boundaries or jurisdiction and that they not only apply to rural areas in the way that it is now intended through the regressive law-making of the present. Alliance members also believe that central in a democracy is a right to choose public representatives.
It is the belief of the Alliance therefore, that any law that establishes a governance structure anywhere in South Africa in ways that deviate from the fundamental right of community groups to choose their leaders is in conflict with the core tenet of a democracy.
Our symbol is the traditional umtshayelo wesandle – the hand broom found in every rural household. The broom symbolises the power of organisation – the many bristles representing individuals, communities and organisations who are bound together by a common purpose
visit our other website Stop the Bantustans, for more of our advocacy work
Alliance members believe that central in a democracy is a right to choose public representatives. This right is intrinsic in a democracy and lies at the core of the Constitution.
As such, any law that establishes a governance structure anywhere in South Africa in ways that deviate from the fundamental right of community groups to choose their leaders is in conflict with the core tenet of a democracy.
Rural communities mobilize and hold those in power to account and maintain transparency.
Rural communities actively participate in defending their land rights, advocating against distorted customary law practices and,undermining the lack of transparency and accountability by key decision-makers
The Alliance works with its partners for policy reform and effective implementation of laws
Rural communities empowered to influence policy decisions own their own terms, based on our experiences and needs
Following from our ethos, we employ a multi-faceted approach to our work to account for the dynamic contexts in which our communities exist. We envisage achieving the change we seek three-fold: at local community level; in policies and laws and; and, in the manner in which laws and policies are implemented. We achieve our objectives through the following programs:
The ARD organizes across the country to highlight the implications of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Bill and Traditional Courts Bills which seek to entrench apartheid geographies with its proposals to establish traditional councils based on the apartheid governance framework established in terms of the 1951 Bantu Authorities Act.
Our campaign highlights the continued othering of rural people because of the provisions allowing traditional leaders to enter into negotiations and partnerships with third parties on behalf of communities with very little consultation. Communities should have the right to say no to land deals or investments and also the right to decide on the types of development and interventions that they want to support.
The ARD succeeded in amplifying the voices of communities, especially rural women who have been at the forefront of opposition to the Bantustan Bills.
The ARD plays an active role in monitoring the state and holding it accountable for elite mining deals and the sale of communal land which both fail to honor the rights of rural citizens in land, by ensuring that communities are extensively consulted and their right to say no exists, but also fail to benefit rural citizens in meaningful ways.
This has included contesting the illicit leasing of land in the former homelands for mining and other land-based projects or investments without the informed consent of the rights holders as required by the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act.
Exposing post democratic SA’s to integrate rural South Africa fully in the broader nation building project, is a means to action our demand for meaningful citizenship which include land restitution, even development; and democratic governance which works.
Driven by the urgency of the demand that the national government prioritize rural development by undoing the wrongs of the previous colonial administration which include skewed economic, social and racial power. The campaign places the pervasive conditions endemic to rural South Africa into its proper historical context as it relates to contemporary problems.
Following a strong bottom-up approach to our work, the Alliance is invested in supporting local level actions and capacity building activities. Our workshops and skills sharing interventions are guided from provincial and regional strategy meetings which bring together community representatives, CBOs, researchers and lawyers engaged in struggles around core themes on which ARD works.
These activities thus fall within our broader campaigns on land rights, mining, traditional governance, traditional courts and tribal levies, and allow rural community activists to articulate their demands and proactively organize for a law, policy or action that will best meet their needs.
The ARD works with our partners on action research that is driven by community identified needs. The research is undertaken and produced in ways which assist communities in protecting their land rights; advocate against distorted customary law practices; and undermine lack of transparency and accountability by key decision-makers . Litigation partners have historically offered services to communities at no cost, in cases that build our constitutional democracy.
Aus Connie Mogale was not only the founder of our organisation, but also a fearless activist and a guiding light in the struggle for rural democracy and land rights in South Africa. Her life was defined by resilience, vision and an unwavering commitment to justice for communities who had been silenced and displaced. She stood at the forefront of campaigns that challenged inequality, always ensuring that the voices of the rural poor were heard. Aus Connie’s courage, her warmth, and her belief in people’s dignity continue to inspire us and remain deeply woven into the values of our work. Today, we remember her not only as a leader, but as a mother, sister, comrade and friend whose legacy will live on in the movement she helped to build
The work of the Alliance is made possible through the dedicated partnership of Communal Property Associations, Trusts and Individual Households, rural activists CBOs advancing land justice. Presently, members of the Alliance include the Land Access Movement of South Africa, Land and Accountability Research Centre, Nkuzi Development Association, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, Benchmarks Foundation, Phuhlisani NPC, Nelson Mandela Foundation and Amandla.MOBI.
The work of the ARD is supported by the generous funding of the Tshemba Foundation, Raith Foundation, Millennium Trust, and the Social Justice Initiative (grant currently managed by Social Change Agency Trust) as our core donors. We have also been supported for ad-hoc advocacy campaigns and received donations in kind from the Foundation for Human Rights, Land and Accountability Research Centre, Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
Ayanda Khumalo is an admitted attorney currently employed as a partner at Webber Wentzel Attorneys. Her practice focuses on human rights law, corporate governance for NPOs and land reform. She has extensive experience in corporate governance having serviced just over 100 NPOs in South Africa. In this regard, she had assisted organisations to register, draft founding/governing documents and provide guidance on restructuring for effective governance. She has diverse litigation experience having represented individuals and NGOs to enforce a broad range of constitutional rights. Ayanda has also represented several communities who were previously disposed of their land to reclaim their land through restitution or redistribution. She works with communities to ensure that they set up sustainable Communal Property Associations which can generate an income for its beneficiaries.
Previously (2018 – 2020) Ayanda worked at the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) Trust as the Head of Legal and Company Secretary at the. In this role Ayanda ensured that good governance was upheld within the multifaceted structure of SANAC.
In 2021 Ayanda joined the National Department of Health at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and assisted in the implementation of the vaccination and COVID-19 response programs. In this role Ayanda has gained experience in dealing with issues of public procurement as outlined in the Public Finance Management Act and its regulations, contract drafting and negotiation as well as employment law disputes and ensuring the implementation of various national and international donor, bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Ayanda graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with an LLB degree
Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi is the Chief Executive Office of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and a former Associate Professor of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Johannesburg.
His research focuses on studying land, governance and the state in South Africa. He is interested in trajectories of land reform, the role of traditional authorities in land governance, the study of institution of the state, as well as on corruption and statue capture.
He explores how we can think with pre-colonial pasts to forge decolonial futures in areas ranging from identity and archives to governance and state building. Mbongiseni holds a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University in New York. His most recent co-edited publication with Peter Vale is State Capture in South Africa. How and Why it Happened (2023, Wits University Press).
Professor Ben Cousins holds a DST/NRF Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
He established the Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (now the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies) at UWC in 1995 and was its Director until 2009. He holds a DPhil in Applied Social Studies from the University of Zimbabwe, and was in exile between 1972 and 1991. He helped to establish and operate a training centre for small-scale farmers in Swaziland from 1976 to 1983, working in agricultural extension and training in Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1986 prior to his return to South Africa in 1991.
In 2013 Professor Cousines received an inaugural Elinor Ostrom Award for his contribution to scholarship on common property (‘the commons’). Owing to his extensive experience in the land sector, he is often called upon to comment on land reform and related issues in the media.
Motlanalo Lebepe is the Executive Director for Nkuzi Development Association NPC, a land rights and agrarian reform advocacy organization in Limpopo Province. Commonly known as Mo, she started her journey is social justice and land rights back in 1997, and has since worked in the telecommunications industry, enterprise development and later local government in 2007. Mo has vast experience in strategic management, municipal management and policy influence amongst others but has since returned to the land sector where she began her career.
Ms Lebepe holds a Master’s in Development Studies, and is currently advancing women’s land rights, and supporting rural communities to exercise their democratic rights through campaigning against Tribal Levies, Bantustan practices, access to land and production resources, and women’s inclusion in decision making processes and exercise self-agency. Mo is also active in land sector platforms nationally and continentally including LandNNES, and the International Land Coalition where she now serves on the Steering Committee for ILC Africa and an ILC Council member for 2025-2027 period.
Malebo Rapetswa’s career showcases her deep commitment and expertise within South Africa’s telecommunications sector. With two decades of experience, she has been instrumental in shaping financial strategies and performance management, driving growth and success for companies in this highly competitive industry. Her solid financial foundation, backed by a Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of South Africa, has equipped her to excel in a wide range of financial roles.
Her ability to seamlessly integrate strategic vision with operational execution has had a profound impact, particularly in delivering sustained revenue growth. This unique blend of financial mastery and strategic insight distinguishes her as a leader in her field.
