scholarly journals THE ANC’S LAND REFORM POLICY: AN UNSUSTAINABLE & UNSATISFACTORY COMPROMISE

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorne A Godinho
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Reform Policy ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Discussion Document ◽  
History Of ◽  
Policy Proposals

‘Tensions [in South Africa] continue, and conflicting interests and ideologies lead to more or less unsatisfactory compromises.’ Against the backdrop of these words by Frank Welsh in his seminal work on the history of South Africa, the debate surrounding land reform will be critically examined. The African National Congress (ANC) released its ‘Land Reform Policy Discussion Document’ (hereinafter referred to as the Policy Document) in June 2012. The Policy Document outlines the ruling party’s policy on the transformation of South Africa’s land ownership, stating that: ‘[l]and reform must represent a radical and rapid break from the past without significantly disrupting agricultural production and food security.’ This article aims to take a critical look at the rhetoric and policy proposals which surround the debate on land. Furthermore, the nature and effect of the proposed redress will be examined. Through an understanding of green economics and environmentalism, the effect of economic opportunity, and a critique of the ideological defects of the proposals, this article will seek to provide a sustainable solution in contrast to the constantly unsatisfactory compromises that saturate South African public discourse around these issues.

"The Struggle Made Me a Nonracialist": Why There was so Little Terrorism in the Antiapartheid Struggle

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The South ◽  
Social Basis ◽  
White Allies ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Congress

Most theories of terrorism would lead one to have expected high levels of antiwhite terrorism in apartheid South Africa. Yet the African National Congress, the country's most important and influential antiapartheid political organization, never sanctioned terrorism against the dominant white minority. I argue that the ANC eschewed terrorism because of its commitment to "nonracial internationalism." From the ANC's perspective, to have carried out a campaign of indiscriminate or "categorical" terrorism against whites would have alienated actual and potential white allies both inside and outside the country. The ANC's ideological commitment to nonracialism had a specific social basis: It grew out of a long history of collaboration between the ANC and white leftists inside and outside the country, especially those in the South African Communist Party.

scholarly journals Church Land Reform through a Combination of Examples and Theology of Spatial Justice

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntandoyenkosi Mlambo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Spatial Justice ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Imbalances ◽  
Catholic Tradition

Land was one of the ways the colonialist venture as well as the apartheid regime used to divide people, as well as being a catalyst for superiority. Over hundreds of years, from the beginning of colonial rule until the end of apartheid in 1994, the indigenous people of South Africa were dispossessed from the land. With the end of the Truth and Reconciliation proceedings, it was clear from suggested actions that there should be restitution in South Africa to begin to correct the spatial and resultant economic imbalances. Churches in South Africa embarked on setting declarations on land reform ecumenically and within their own walls. However, little information is available on final reform measures that churches have taken after several ecumenical meetings in the 1990s. Additionally, there is little development in South African theology circles on a theology of land justice. Moreover, a praxis on land justice for churches has not been openly developed or discussed post-1994. This study aims to look at the history of the land issue in South Africa, particularly from 1948–1994, and will include the history of land ownership in the Roman Catholic tradition. In addition, it will look at examples of land reform in the Roman Catholic Church from 1999 until the present in the Diocese of Mariannhill. Furthermore, the article will consider the emerging praxis of spatial justice based on a hermeneutic view taken from black liberation and contextual theology. The article concludes with a look at how these examples and new praxis can develop the ecumenical church’s quest for a prophetic voice and actions in land South African land reform.

Post-Liberation South Africa: Sorting Out the Pieces

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-268
Author(s):  
EC Ejiogu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Racial Democracy ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Alliance Partners ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Democratic Elections

The written history and narratives of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle in South Africa has been cast, albeit erroneously, as if it was waged and won solely by the African National Congress (ANC), its ally the South African Communist Party (SACP), and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the three alliance partners that have held the reins of state power since the first multi-racial democratic elections in 1994. The truth is that the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania, the Azania People’s Organization (AZAPO), the New Unity Movement (NUMO), and several other liberation movements played significantly vital roles in that struggle. The ensuing discourse puts this state of affairs on the PAC’s diminished status in the politics of post-liberation South Africa, which derives partly from its radical antecedents from its inception that placed it apart from the ANC from which it split in 1959, earned it immediate proscription from the apartheid stage before it could root itself properly as well as notoriety in the West. The discourse argues and concludes that a more comprehensive narrative and written history of that struggle will benefit the on-going quest for the transformation of South Africa’s multi-racial democracy and the course of democracy in the rest of Africa.

scholarly journals Land Reform in the Republic of South Africa: Social Justice or Populism?

Werkwinkel ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Żukowski
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
South African ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Free Market ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
The Republic

Abstract In the paper land reform in South African political discourse will be investigated, especially the process of its politicization. How the topic of land reform is used by political forces, especially the ruling party; the African National Congress and current President Jacob Zuma. Does the Republic of South Africa take a populist turn on land reform or is it some kind of social justice after the suppression of the apartheid era and decades before? The political disputes and decisions will be analysed in confrontations with the fundamentals and values of a democratic state as a guarantee of property rights, private ownership and free market principles (dilemma of the problem of willing buyer - willing seller). It will be necessary to present the historical background of land problem in the RSA. The problem will be investigated in connection with the socio-economic situation of the RSA. The study will also tackle the problem of social and economic inequality from the perspective of politics. In the paper, a mix of primary and secondary research methods of data collection and analysing will be used. Theoretical framework will be based on assumptions of political discourse and the paradigm of “classic” land reform.

scholarly journals South African managers’ perceptions of black economic empowerment (BEE): A ‘sunset’ clause may be necessary to ensure future sustainable growth

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
L P Krüger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Black Economic ◽  
Black Economic Empowerment

Transformational policies in South Africa, such as black economic empowerment (BEE), have increasingly and inextricably become part of the everyday political, economic and social life of all South Africans since the founding of the new democracy in April 1994. In this regard, South African businesses are subject to a whole array of mandatory regulations which specifically influence their operational capabilities and competitiveness to compete effectively and efficiently in both national and global markets. In a survey among 500 individual managers in South African businesses ranging from small, medium to large multinationals companies, it was found that BEE is well integrated into most of these organisations. However, the mounting resistance to and rejection of BEE that exists at management level can also increasingly be seen at the intellectual level of the population through public discourse in the daily newspapers, in which BEE is essentially viewed as a perpetuation of past injustices. The African National Congress (ANC) government must take cognisance of the negative influence that BEE has had on South Africa over the last more or less ten years and accept that a ‘sunset’ or termination clause needs to be set before too much further damage is done to the economy of the country and its world competiveness ranking.

Finding Foreign Policy: Researching in Five South African Archives

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 379-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Graham
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Second World War ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
History Of ◽  
Liberation Movements ◽  
Areas Of Interest ◽  
Second World

The turbulent modern history of South Africa, which includes notable events such as the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, the banning and exile of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), and the dramatic transition from apartheid to democracy in the early 1990s, has drawn academics from a number of fields to studying the nation from a variety of angles. Two such topics which have attracted scholarly attention are the foreign policy of South Africa both during apartheid, and subsequently after its demise in 1994, and the multi faceted activities of the liberation movements fighting against it. When looking at the international relations of South Africa from the end of the Second World War, through until the present day, it is almost impossible to analyse this dimension of South Africa's past without examining the lasting effects that the political mindset of apartheid had upon foreign policy decision making, and the international community. Likewise, the history of the liberation movements such as the ANC and the PAC were shaped by their attempts to defeat apartheid and the eventual end to the struggle. The histories of the ANC and South African foreign policy are inextricably linked, demonstrating the importance of what has, and is occurring in the country, creating a complex, but truly intriguing area of research for academics.Conducting archival research on these two areas of interest is relatively easy in South Africa, with on the whole, well stocked, largely deserted, and easy to use archives located across the country.

The Engagement of Beneficiaries in Farm Governance of Restituted Land through the Communal Property Association Model: The Ideal Versus the Reality of Beneficiary Farms in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mokoko Piet Sebola ◽  
Malemela Angelinah Mamabolo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
Farm Ownership ◽  
Land Restitution ◽  
Communal Property Associations

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the engagement of farm beneficiaries in South Africa in the governance of restituted farms through communal property associations. The South African government has already spent millions of rands on land restitution to correct the imbalance of the past with regard to farm ownership by the African communities. Various methods of farm management to benefit the African society have been proposed, however, with little recorded success. This article argues that the South African post-apartheid government was so overwhelmed by political victory in 1994 that they introduced ambitious land reform policies that were based on ideal thinking rather than on a pragmatic approach to the South African situation. We used qualitative research methods to argue that the engagement of farm beneficiaries in farm management and governance through communal property associations is failing dismally. We conclude that a revisit of the communal property associations model is required in order to strengthen the position of beneficiaries and promote access to land by African communities for future benefit.

‘Limping, Yet Made to Climb a Mountain!’ Re-Reading the Vashti Character in the Hiv And Aids South African Context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’A Mphahlele)
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
External Factor ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
African Women ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
African Context

The history of the Christian Bible’s reception in South Africa was part of a package that included among others, the importation of European patriarchy, land grabbing and its impoverishment of Africans and challenged masculinities of African men. The preceding factors, together with the history of the marginalization of African women in bible and theology, and how the Bible was and continues to be used in our HIV and AIDS contexts, have only made the proverbial limping animal to climb a mountain. Wa re o e bona a e hlotša, wa e nametša thaba (while limping, you still let it climb a mountain) simply means that a certain situation is being aggravated (by an external factor). In this chapter the preceding Northern Sotho proverb is used as a hermeneutical lens to present an HIV and AIDS gender sensitive re-reading of the Vashti character in the Hebrew Bible within the South African context.

scholarly journals The South African Redistribution Imperative: Incongruities in Theory and Practice

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Sue-Mari Viljoen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The South ◽  
Slow Pace

Abstract It has partly been assumed that the constitutional obligation to pay compensation for expropriations is to blame for the slow pace at which land has been redistributed in South Africa. However, this assumption requires careful analysis and reflection, with reference to the imperfections of the policies and laws that set out to address landlessness, as well as the underlying theoretical approach to economic justice. This article questions the purpose for which land reform beneficiaries acquire land, with reference to the role that property should ideally fulfil for the landless. The article makes a number of observations to cast light on why the redistribution of land has been alarmingly slow, where inconsistencies and loopholes exist in the programme, and whether expropriations for nil compensation will make any difference in remedying existing failures in the redistribution programme.

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