A study of land reform and its impact in the Greater Letaba Local Municipality of the Mopani District in the Limpopo Province.

Abstract

Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, numerous land reform projects have been approved by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. This dissertation focuses on the Greater Letaba Local Municipality in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study seeks to establish the extent to which land redistribution contributes to community development and poverty reduction in the Greater Letaba Local Municipality. In addition, the study evaluates the extent to which public administration processes and functions impact on the objectives of the Land Redistribution Programme. To achieve the research objectives, this study adopted a qualitative and quantitative approach. Using appropriate sampling techniques, the study sample was selected from land reform beneficiaries, traditional authorities, municipal council members and government officials in the Departments of Agriculture and of Rural Development and Land Reform. The major finding of this research is that the land reform policy needs to be reviewed, particularly the willing buyer willing seller programme. There is also a need for monitoring and evaluation on public projects, including the land redistribution projects. This was evident when some redistribution projects collapsed. It was noted that the land reform projects did not provide adequate income to the beneficiaries. Most of the land redistribution projects lacked the aftercare services. In the end, it can be mentioned that the department can enhance its land redistribution process by engaging stakeholders such as, non-governmental organisations, private institutions and municipalities. The conclusions and recommendations indicate that there is a need for capacity building among beneficiaries to further the programme’s objectives. Furthermore, public administration processes in implementation of this programme ought to be based on a sound all-inclusive planning process. Such a process should be acutely aware of the importance of aftercare service in all land redistribution projects. Aftercare services should include such control measures such as inspection, auditing and regular reporting on project performance. This study may be valuable to all stakeholders that have an interest in fundamental social change in rural areas. These are, notably, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform; the Department of Agriculture; non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and rural-based municipalities.