Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This dissertation explores the notions of community identity as they relate to land restitution. Specifically, the dissertation examines how community is (re)constructed in the Popela case study by examining how the claimants (former labour tenants) have framed their experience of dispossession and their understanding of their rights in land. Oftentimes, claimant groups will articulate their shared history as it relates to the land, and within this narrative they will seek to highlight the legitimacy of their claim. In this regard, rural communities tend to submit claims for restitution on the basis of the forced dispossession of the tribe. In contrast, labour tenants’ claims for restitution are based on the dispossession of grazing and cropping rights linked to their labour as individuals. The dissertation explores how the Popela claimants have (re)constructed their community identity. It shows that their discourse is characterized by conflicting notions of community and belonging, and traces the connections between these contradictions and the concessions the claimants had to make in adopting definitions and terms that have been imposed on them. It argues that while claimants appear to have accepted the Constitutional Court’s view of the basis of their claim, a ‘hidden transcript’ of commitment to community identity still persists, carefully hidden from public view in order to be awarded restitution.

This paper examines how and to what extent the District Six Museum has contributed the current redevelopment of the District Six site. Since its inception, the Museum has challenged accepted definitions of heritage and has transcended common museological practices through its initiative as an institution to go beyond nurturing the memory of one of the most iconic sites of forced removal in South Africa, but to also contribute to the site’s redevelopment. The Museum grew out of an organisation that was dedicated to protecting the empty wasteland that the District had become since it was announced a ‘white area’ by the apartheid government and bulldozed. The same group of people became passionate not only about protecting the site, and conducting “memory work” surrounding it but eventually contributing to a process of restitution and rebuilding the homes and lives of those whose houses where destroyed and communities were fragmented. This paper considers such an initiative, which began in a pre-democratic environment where the concept of heritage was ill-defined and cultural institutions often served apartheid agendas. This consideration will involve an examination of the way in which the District Six Museum developed; the Museum’s role and how this role has evolved and the District Six that has been re-imagined through the Museum and how this “idea” is contributing to re-development.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis examines the trajectories of agrarian change on community-owned commercial farms in the Levubu Valley in the northern part of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Levubu is a locality where fertile land was developed and made highly productive after state-led dispossession of African communities. White farmers were initially resettled on a state-run irrigation scheme, but later became independent large-scale commercial farmers linked to global agro-food markets. The thesis focusses on four Communal Property Associations (CPAs) that acquired ownership of farms in Levubu. Government’s post-apartheid land restitution programme required the CPAs to enter into ‘strategic partnership’ agreements with agribusiness companies. Resettlement of beneficiaries on these farms was ruled out in an attempt to sustain existing production systems and levels of employment. After these partnerships collapsed, CPAs have attempted to run the farms themselves, through operating companies employing professional farm managers. Using key concepts from agrarian political economy, the thesis seeks to understand the dynamics of production and social reproduction on the farms and the political tensions that have arisen since restitution occurred. It also explores how this form of land restitution has impacted on the livelihoods of farmworkers. The study combines intensive (or qualitative) research methods, involving indepth interviews, focus groups and direct observations, and extensive (or quantitative) approaches, mainly in the form of a farmworker household survey undertaken in two communities. This research design has allowed for ‘retrospective’ analysis of changes over time to be complemented by ‘circumspective’ analysis of the relations and dynamics of property, production and power on community-owned farms in Levubu. The main findings of the study are that neither joint venture companies nor community-owned farming enterprises have been able to distribute dividend payments to claimant community members as yet. Rather, when profits have been realised they have largely been invested back into productive enterprises. Few other benefits have been received either, other than the preferential employment of some claimant farmworkers on the farms, a small number as managers or supervisors. Although additional jobs were created in the initial stages of restitution, these enterprises have struggled to maintain employment levels. Poor management decisions have meant that increased labour costs have not been accompanied by increases in productivity and output. Severe tensions and conflicts have arisen within CPAs, manifested in different forms of identity politics and competing ‘modes of belonging’. Tensions in communityowned large-scale farming enterprises are explained by the contradictory unity of capital and labour within community-owned enterprises, with difficult choices to be made between enhancing social reproduction or ensuring accumulation and profitability. These combine with complex processes of identification in socio-political struggles around access to and control of key resources. These findings suggest that policy makers should re-examine assumptions in relation to community-owned farming enterprises and explore mechanisms through which individual beneficiary households can realise more significant benefits. One policy option might be to seek the complementarity of large-scale commercial farming and smallholder farming systems, both on land restored to CPAs through restitution and in communal areas.

Masters of Commerce / In South Africa land dispossession and land appropriation were legally instituted with the promulgation of the 1913 and 1936 Land Acts and the 1950 Group Areas Act that saw the forced removal of the majority of Black South Africans from their homes and livelihoods. This policy of racial segregation left in its wake countless examples of families and entire communities being uprooted and forced to eke out an existence on land that often had no or little potential for development. The Tswana people who resided on the farm Schmidtsdrift in the Northern Cape is an example of a community that was forced to relocate to a barren piece of land called Kuruman about 140km from Schmidtsdrift. In 1994 with South Africa’s first democratic elections, a number of policy changes were affected that sought to undo the injustice of the past. The Land reform programme initiated by the government provided the Tswana people an opportunity to reclaim their land under the Land Restitiition Act o2 of 1994. The new policy changes were certainly far reaching in addressing the legacy of landlessness but it became clear four years after the initiation of the programme that serious delays with regard to the finalisation of the claims were being experienced. By 1998 only 9 claims of the 26 000 claims lodged with the Commission on the Restitution of Land Claims were finalised. One of the claims that were still awaiting finalisation at this stage was the Schmidtsdrift claim lodged by the Tswana community in November 1996. It is within this landscape of challenges faced by the land restitution process that this research report examined the obstacles, specifically: from 1996 to 1998, experienced by the Schmidtsdrift Restitution Case with regard to the settlement of their claim.

Land reform in South Africa is premised on land restitution. land redistribution and security of terlllre as its major components. It has the following objectives amongst others, to address the injustices of racially-based land dispossession; inequitable distribution ofland ownership; need for security of tenure for all: need for sustainable use of land: need [or rapid release of land for development: need to record and register all rights in property: and the need to administer public land in an effective manner. Over two decades of the democratic dispensation, lack of proper funding and capacity by government official to expedite the land reform processes deprives the rural communities like the Morebene community the enjoyment of their land rights and proper redress after devastating land dispossession. The research has managed to establish the serious pain and suffering that has been brought by incompetent implementation of six phases of land restitution process by Limpopo RLCC to the commuillty of Morebeoe. Lack of capacity to implement land restitution processes has been found to have been a major setback to lhe Morebene communjty to an extent that their restitution processes were abandoned by the Limpopo RLCC at project execution stage. The community composed of nearly 81% of rhe youth and middle aged people bas been left without jobs and no property rights and development all of which are caused by the lack of expertise from the oHicials of the RLCC. No restitution grants and development gTants were granted to the community and no formal or informal training let alone workshops held in relation to the government"s expectations from the land reform policies and legislation. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The thesis maps and analyzes the development of landed property on the territory of the contemporary Czech Republic since 1918 until the beginning of the 21st century. A special attention is devoted to the role and interference of the state into the development of this field. An essential part of the text comprises an introduction to the proprietary rights. The thesis presents a structural insight into the landed property system and its significance not just for the actual legal development on the territory of the contemporary Czech Republic but also for the ability to meet the basic existential needs of people living on this territory during particular, more or less historically important time periods. In more detail, it deals with the development of landed property after 1918, 1948 and 1989. It examines the issues of land reforms, socialization period and agrarian collectivization as well as the more recent ones. These include the process of restitution and privatization of landed property. Besides analyzing the contemporary legislation de lege lata, the author also addresses the proposals de lege ferenda. Simultaneously, the author devotes attention to the state land ownership; therefore, in the broader context, the question of the contemporary role of the state as the land owner is analyzed,...

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2011

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2012

Thesis (M.DEV.) --University of Limpopo, 2012. / This research presents a study to investigate impact of support services rendered to land restitution claim settlement, with a focus on Masakona community in Makhado municipality in Limpopo Province There is encouraging evidence from a number of studies, however that the period after land settlement or restitution is the most critical because the success of land reform is not only measured by the number of hectors restitution, but by the support services rendered to those restituted projects. However, in this study, indicators were developed with overall purpose of determining or assessing whether specific improvement is been realized after implementation of agricultural support services. The indicators include improved access to financial,( implements , mechanization and job creation), access to extension support (improved crop production owing to provided advisory services); access to market information; and capacity building (change in farmer’s skills and knowledge). The study includes a review of international and local literature on land reform (especially land restitution). It is based on repeated field visits to Masakona land restitution projects, interview with employed beneficiaries of Masakona restituted project, CPA management committee members and extension officers from Limpopo Department of Agriculture who are servicing the restituted projects. The findings of this study point to the need for the state to rethink its strategy on post- settlement support and the involvement of a range of institutions, especially local government, for the sustainability and productivity of these projects.

Thesis (M.A. (Sociology)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / The study is on land restitution and development departing from the assumption that the return of a people’s land should contribute to the enhancement of their wellbeing. The question is does the common land-use objective of beneficiaries of land restitution match their share historical right to the returned land? What should actions on the returned land be based – livelihood needs or restorative justice? A profile of the livelihoods of the Manavhelas showed how the land restitution process can be used to reduce poverty amongst previously dispossessed Black South Africans. Methodological triangulation was used to achieve the above. It was observed in this case that land restitution is yet to realise poverty reduction because of gaps in its conception and inadequacies in the implementation. Closing the gap and linking the land restitution programme to the livelihood needs of its beneficiaries will improve its capacity to deliver on its promise