After nearly 15 years of political transition, it becomes legitimate to question the effectiveness and sustainability of land reform in South Africa. Based on empirical findings regarding the redistributive land reform projects (restitution and redistribution) of the Mole-mole municipality in the Limpopo Province (South Africa), the objective of this paper is to evaluate the contribution of these projects to development and to analyze the extent to which they have improved people¿s lives in rural South Africa. The paper not only details the limited impact of the land reform projects on the socio-economic aspects of the majority of the beneficiaries¿ livelihoods, its assessment of the effective implementation of these land reform projects - from the initial application phase via the settlement to the final configuration of the project - allowed the identification of deficiencies and threats affecting the projects. Analysis of the failure to link land reform to development has led to recommendations, and also to a reflection on the viability and legitimacy of the existing land policies.