The DDP has worked closely with land restitution claimant communities around issues of contamination and clean up of the military land on which they have lodged a claim . The DDP sees itself as playing an important role in building capacity around issues of defence and security in South Africa. The apartheid military was a repository of large tracks of valuable land in the country. When one considers that the land was acquired through systematic dispossession of communities, it is therefore no surprise that the government of the day has placed land reform as a priority issue on their agenda. The SADF used the land for weapons testing and training purposes.
Land reform is essential in trying to rectify the injustices of the past.
The Defence and Development Project feels that the land reform programme must also place the conversion of military land, from defence to development purposes, firmly on its agenda. With communities now able to reclaim their land there has especially been intense struggles around the restitution of military land. Johannesburg, South Africa Key Principles 1. Mine Action is a development issue. The needs and priorities of affected people must form the basis of any Mine Action Programme.