scholarly journals The Historical Context of Land Reform in South Africa and Early Policies

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 706
Author(s):  
Henk J Kloppers ◽  
Gerrit J Pienaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
Legislative Measures

The need for the current land reform programme arose from the racially discriminatory laws and practices which were in place for the largest part of the twentieth century, especially those related to land ownership. The application of these discriminatory laws and practices resulted in extreme inequalities in relation to land ownership and land use. This article provides an overview of the most prominent legislation which provides the framework for the policy of racially-based territorial segregation. It further discusses the legislative measures and policies which were instituted during the period from 1991 to 1997, aimed at abolishing racially-based laws and practices related to land and which eventually provided the basis to the current land reform programme.

Incommensurabilities of the SADC Land Issue and Nozick's Entitlement Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-325
Author(s):  
Benedict Abrahamson Chigara
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
Entitlement Theory ◽  
Target States ◽  
Inter State

Racialised land ownership in former apartheid-governed states of the SADC remains the most divisive subject particularly between Western states and SADC states themselves. Western states have reacted to the SADC land reform programme (LRP) by imposing severe economic sanctions on target states while SADC states have, in the aftermath of the Campbell decision, suspended the very SADC Tribunal for handing down that decision, pending review of its jurisdiction. Further, SADC states have limited the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to inter-state matters only, shutting the door on individual petitions for any alleged human rights abuses. At the heart of this matter is the issue of contested title to lands that the SADC Tribunal had dealt with in the Campbell case. This article applies Nozick's entitlement theory to determine the question of entitlement as a means of illuminating the incommensurabilities around the SADC land issue. Formalist arguments that are premised on strict and purist positions on either side of these incommensurabilities are weighed under the light of entitlement theory. The article shows that because of its historically multi-layered dimensions, the SADC land issue appears ill-suited to legal formalist arguments that ignore both the historical context of colonialism and forcible expropriation of native titles without compensation.

scholarly journals Land Reform in South Africa: The Conversation That Never Took Place

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godswill Makombe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Data Collection Tool ◽  
Land Redistribution ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
The Social ◽  
Land Restitution

After independence, South Africa embarked on a land reform programme that is meant to redress the highly inequitable land ownership which resulted from Apartheid. The programme comprises land redistribution, land restitution and land tenure. On restitution projects, the maintenance of production has been highly problematic. Loss of production means there is very little or no livelihoods impacts from restitution. The beneficiaries of restitution projects usually have neither farming experience nor capital to continue or restart the farm operations. As a result, most restitution projects are either non-functional or are functioning at a meager fraction of previous levels. Most studies on restitution have been carried out by studying the beneficiaries but not previous owners. I use the social constructivist paradigm to explore personal experience through engagement using the interview as a data collection tool. I explore the perspectives of a previous land owner who provides insights into how the restitution programme could be made more successful by letting a conversation occur between the previous owners and beneficiaries. I posit that it is essential to include the previous owners to reduce the trauma from loss of their lifestyle while also reducing beneficiaries’ trauma caused by lack of benefits from restitution.

Can SPLUMA Play a Role in Transforming Spatial Injustice to Spatial Justice in Housing in South Africa?

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannie Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
National Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spatial Development ◽  
Land Use Management ◽  
Spatial Justice ◽  
Spatial Environment

Our spatial environment is one of the most important determinants of our well-being and life chances. It relates to schools, opportunities, businesses, recreation and access to public services. Spatial injustice results where discrimination determines that spatial environment. Since Apartheid in South Africa epitomised the notion of spatial injustice, tools and instruments are required to transform spatial injustice into spatial justice. One of these is the employment of principles of spatial justice. While the National Development Plan (NDP) recognised that all spatial development should conform to certain normative principles and should explicitly indicate how the requirements of these should be met, the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act 16 of 2013 (SPLUMA) contains a more concrete principle of spatial justice. It echoes aspects of both the South African land reform programme and global principles of spatial justice. Essentially section 7(a) of SPLUMA entails three components: (1) redressing past spatial imbalances and exclusions; (2) including people and areas previously excluded and (3) upgrading informal areas and settlements. SPLUMA directs municipalities to apply the principle in its spatial development frameworks, land use schemes and, most importantly, in decision-making on development applications. The aim of this article is to determine whether the application of this principle in practice can move beyond the confines of spatial planning and land use management to address the housing issue in South Africa. Central to housing is section 26 of the Constitution, that has received the extensive attention of the Constitutional Court. The court has not hesitated to criticize the continuing existence of spatial injustice, thus contributing to the transformation of spatial injustice to spatial justice. Since planning, housing and land reform are all intertwined not only the role of SPLUMA, but also the NDP and the myriad other policies, programmes and legislation that are attempting to address the situation are examined and tested against the components of the principle of spatial justice in SPLUMA.

LAND REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA: OBSTINATE SPACIAL DISTORTIONS

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Manala Shadrack Maake
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Land Claims ◽  
Tenure Reform ◽  
Land Redistribution ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
Theoretical Paper

This theoretical paper seeks to make an empirical contribution to the Land Reform discourses. The paper argues that the pace of land redistribution in South Africa is undeniably slow and limits livelihood choices of relatively most intended beneficiaries of land reform programme. The primacy and success of the programme within rural development ought to measured and assessed through ways in which the land reform programmes conforms to and improve the livelihoods, ambitions and goals of the intended beneficiaries without compromising agricultural production and the economy. In addition, paper highlights the slow pace of land reform programme and its implications on socio-economic transformation of South Africa. Subsequently, the paper concludes through demonstrating the need for a radical approach towards land reform without disrupting agricultural production and further to secure support and coordination of spheres of government. The democratic government in South Africa inherited a country which characterized by extreme racial imbalances epitomized through social relations of land and spatial distortions. Non-white South Africans are still feeling the effects of colonial and apartheid legal enactments which sought to segregate ownership of resources on the basis of race in particular. Thus, successive democratic governments have the specific mandate to re-design and improve land reform policies which are targeted to reverse colonially fueled spatial distortions. South Africa’s overall Land Reform programme consists of three key elements and namely are; land redistribution, tenure reform and land restitution. Concomitantly, spatial proponents and researchers have denounced and embraced land reform ideology and its status quo in South Africa. The criticisms overlapped towards both beneficiaries and state due to factors like poor post-settlement support, lack of skills, lack of capital, infighting over land claims and land management.

scholarly journals Introducing CSR - The Missing Ingredient in the Land Reform Recipe?

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk J Kloppers
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Tenure Reform ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
The Government ◽  
Corporate Social

In reaction to the unequal land ownership brought about by decades of apartheid, the first democratically elected government embarked on an extensive land reform programme - a programme consisting of the three constitutionally protected pillars: restitution, redistribution and tenure reform. The aim of this programme is not only to provide for restitution to persons who lost their land as a result of racially based measures, but also provide previously disadvantaged South Africans with access to land in order to address the unequal land ownership. This research focuses on the restitution and redistribution pillars of the land reform programme. The progress made in terms of both these sub-programmes has been disappointing. With reference to redistribution the government has set the target to redistribute 30% of white owned commercial agricultural land to black persons by 2014. To date, less than 10% of this target has been achieved and all indications are that the overwhelming majority of land which has been redistributed is not being used productively or have fallen into a state of total neglect. The state of the redistributed land can be attributed to a variety of causes, with the main cause being the government's inability to provide proper post-settlement support to land reform beneficiaries. Against this background it is clear that alternative options have to be identified in order to improve the result of land reform. This article identifies corporate social responsibility (CSR) as one of the missing ingredients in the recipe for a successful land reform programme. The article introduces CSR and discusses the business case for CSR; identifies its benefits; considers its possible limitations; and examines the major drivers behind the notion. From the discussion of these topics it will become evident that an assumption of social responsibility by businesses in especially the agricultural sector might contribute to an improved land reform programme.

Food Imports, Hunger and State Making in Zimbabwe, 2000–2009

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-144
Author(s):  
Tapiwa Madimu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Fast Track ◽  
National Union ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
Food Shortages ◽  
Imported Food ◽  
Maize Meal ◽  
Food Imports

This article uses hunger as a lens to explore how the process of state making in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2009 negatively affected the country’s food security. Using Eriksen’s concept of state making, the study demonstrates how the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) ruling regime concentrated more on accumulation and power retention at a time when government was expected to address the serious food shortages that the country was facing. The development of a different kind of state that had repressive and accumulation tendencies was signified in 2000 by the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) which was intended to appease the regime’s various constituencies. Taken together with other populist measures, particularly price freezes, the policies destroyed the country’s capacity to produce and manufacture food and pushed citizens to rely almost entirely on food imports (mainly from South Africa). The paper thus contributes to the literature on the Zimbabwean crisis by offering a different dimension, not only on the process of state making and how it caused hunger, but also on the specifics of how ordinary citizens were literally starving except those who could afford to buy imported food (particularly maize meal) from South Africa.

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