Business models in land reform

This paper reviews the types of business models, or landuse models, being implemented in land reform projects involving the transfer of rural land to communities and other groups in South Africa, under both the restitution and redistribution programmes. It draws heavily on the series of Diagnostic Studies prepared as part of the Sustainable Development Consortium’s (SDC) work on post-settlement support, but also draws from other studies on restitution, notably that conducted by the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) in 2005, and the wider literature on redistributive land reform in South Africa.Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC

Land tenure in South Africa's communal areas: a case study of the Arabie-Olifants Scheme

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Forging the links between historical research and the policy process, 18-19 September 1999.This paper looks at the evolution of the land tenure system, and the prospects for reform in a Black communal area. It is based on a case study of the Arabie-Olifants Irrigation Scheme in the former homeland of Lebowa (in Limpopo Province)International Water Management Institute (IWMI

Bjatladi community restitution claim

This report focuses on the restitution case of the Bjatladi Communal Property Association (CPA) and the development and use of the land that has been restored to it in terms of the restitution programme. It examines the nature and content of the post-settlement support which they have received, and draws lessons from their experience of a strategic partnership arrangementBelgian Technical Cooperation (BTC

Restitution and post-settlement support: Three case studies from Limpopo

Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC

A critical assessment of land redistribution policy in the light of the Grootboom judgment

No Abstract

Land reform in South Africa: A status report 2008

After 14 years of democracy in South Africa, there is agreement across the political and social spectrum that the state’s programme of land reform is in severe difficulties. Almost since its inception, the programme has been criticised for failing to reach its targets or deliver on its multiple objectives of historical redress, redistribution of wealth and opportunities, and economic growth. Particular weaknesses – highlighted by its political supporters and opponents alike – include the slow pace of land redistribution, the failure to impact significantly on the land tenure systems prevailing on commercial farms and in the communal areas, and the widespread perception that what redistribution of land has taken place has not been translated into improvements in agricultural productivity or livelihood benefits for the majority of participants. Nevertheless, despite much political hand-wringing and some changes in direction, the policy fundamentals remain largely unchanged from the formula that was put in place at the time of the transition to democracy. Of particular interest, therefore, is not so much the chronic underperformance of a policy area that many saw as critical to post-apartheid transformation, but the ability of the government to persist for so long with an approach that enjoys so little popular support and is clearly failing to deliver on its ostensible objectives

Groenfontein–Ramohlakane community restitution claim

This report examines the efforts of the Groenfontein-Ramohlakane Trust to develop and use the land in (Mpumalanga) that has been restored to the community in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 (‘Restitution Act’). It examines the nature and content of the post-settlement support received and draws lessons from the community’s experience that might inform the development of a strategy for post-settlement support provision involving land reform institutions and associated agencies.Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC

Smallholder Agriculture and Land Reform in South Africa

How canland reformcontribute toa revitalisationof smallholder agriculture inSouthernAfrica?Thisquestion remains important despitenegativeperceptions of land reformas a result of the impactofZimbabwe’s “fast-track” resettlement programmeonagriculturalproduction.This articlefocusesmainly onSouthAfrica, whereahighly unequaldistributionof landcoexists withdeep ruralpoverty,but dominant narratives of the efficiency of large-scaleagriculture exert a s trangleholdon r uralpolicy(cfToulminandGuèye, this IDSBulletinfor WestAfrica)

State, market or the worst of both? Experimenting with market-based land reform In South Africa

The concept of ‘market-based land reform’ (MBLR, also market-assisted land reform, or market-led agrarian reform) has been central to the ‘new wave’ of land reform that has been in evidence internationally since the early 1990s. This so-called new wave followed a lull in land reform in most regions of the world during the 1980s, which marked the end of a long run of (capitalist and socialist) reforms in the decades since the end of the Second World War. This history, and the theoretical positions developed around it, have been debated extensively elsewhere, and will not be repeated here.2 Rather, this introductory section will focus on the relatively recent emergence of MBLR internationally and how the concept has been interpreted and applied in the southern African context. The subsequent section will look in detail at the case of South Africa, while the conclusion draws out key lessons for the region and their implications for land reform policies more generally