There is limited scholarly attention on the ANC land policy from 1955 to 2017 and how the ANC land policy shifts coupled with lack of commitment exacerbated Black landlessness. In addition, there is dearth of scholarship on how the slow pace of the ANC land reform programme affects the marginalised groups such as the Khoisan, women, youth and the poor Black majority. Using the voices of the marginalised people and the available secondary sources, this study sought to fill in this identified gap. The study is an integration of secondary and a variety of primary sources, which follows a qualitative research approach. It is a historical research design whose chief purpose is to collect, verify and synthesise evidence from the past on the ANC land policy. The study systematically analyses the ANC’s land policy, highlighting the history of the land question and the party’s land policy shifts, noting that land is a vital resource for human development and is perceived as a metaphor for freedom in South Africa. Moreover, access to and control over it are directly related to access to the economy and power. Whilst the ANC government promulgated various acts and drafted a series of land reform policies to redress the historical land injustices and to economically empower the marginalised people, limited land has been redistributed to the poor and the landless Black majority. The existence of large numbers of landless Black South Africans as recorded in the 2017 Land Audit Report, confirms that the ANC is struggling to use land reform to alleviate poverty and to address the land injustices perpetrated through the brutal processes of colonialism and apartheid. Thus, the protection of property rights, inadequate funding for the land reform programme, lack of post-settlement support and lack of commitment within the ANC government are primarily responsible for the slow pace of the land redistribution programme. The study concludes that, in South Africa, the second phase of total liberation that entails radical land redistribution is needed to economically empower and emancipate the landless and marginalised people such as the Khoisan, women and youth.

Key terms: Land question; ANC land policy; land reform; land redistribution; radical land redistribution; willing-buyer-willing-seller; expropriation of land without compensation; rural landlessness; women and land; the Khoisan and land; lack of political will; independence without land; economic empowerment; economic emancipation of the landless and marginalised.