The research on elite capture in land redistribution in South Africa was conceived against the background of a significant decline in systematic research on land reform outcomes. Data on land reform outcomes and more specifically evidence on who has been benefiting from South Africa’s land redistribution is generally poor. Currently land reform beneficiaries access land through the lease-hold system. This report sought to deepen the understanding of elite capture and to provide a more comprehensive picture of how elite capture unfolds in land reform. Findings from this research reveal the skewed distribution of resources in land redistribution in favour of well-off beneficiaries. This is attributable to policy biases which prioritise commercial success as an overriding goal in land reform,
