"This dissertation will explore the socio-economic and political factors that have prevented the resumption of the human right to land by black Zimbabweans both during the colonial white minority rule and in independent Zimbabwe. It will also point out the international human rights instruments that justify government intervention in land tenure relations in Zimbabwe and conclude with recommendations. Chapter one is the introduction. It outlines the background of the research problem, the prolem itself, research questions, hypotheses, objectives and purpose of the research. It also outlines the theoretical framework, significance and the methodology. Chapter two is about the colonial land tenure relations in Zimbabwe. It discusses the foundations of the inequitable land tenure relations in Zimbabwe, together with the legal and extra-legal responses thereto during the colonial period. Chapter three is about legal responses in post-colonial Zimbabwe to land tenure imbalances. It examines legal responses Zimbabwe embarded upon after independence in 1980, the Lancaster Agreement and its Article 16 and the Land Acquisition Act from 1985-1992. Chapter four deals with the extra-legal resettlement processes in Zimbabwe and focuses on the non-legal resettlement processes including the squatter/war veterans' phenomenon. Chapter five looks at the available international human rights instruments relevant to Zimbabwe's resettlement processes. Chapter six sums up the key issues and illustrations raised in the research in relation to the objectives and hypotheses. It also offers recommendations towards viable policy options available to Zimbabwe." -- Chapter 1. / Prepared under the supervision of Mr. John Kigula, Faculty of Law, Makerere University, Uganda / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2001. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Zimbabwe is made up of eight provinces, fifty-seven districts and as many Rural District Councils. In each district there is at least one Growth Point although some may have up to two or more. A Growth Point is a 'town or City in the making' and is usually, but not necessarily the capital of a district. Rural District Councils, which form the local administrative authority and have administrative responsibility over the land that falls within their jurisdictions, are often located at these Growth Points. These local authorities liaise and interact closely with central government, which is made up of Ministries and Departments with different functions, which somehow hinge on the administration of the land. This makes the linkages and land information flows, based on land records crucial. The legacy of the history of separate development introduced and left systems of government, which are complex and hinder a free flow of information within central government and also between central and local governments. These linkages and interrelationships are mapped and traced with a view to streamlining information flows in order to eliminate or minimize flaws . While the efforts of decentralisation towards this goal are recognized, the shortcomings have been cited and the thesis makes some recommendations based on a research undertaken with the cooperation of Gokwe Rural District Council at Gokwe Growth Point. The thesis recommends strengthening the local capacity by assisting their efforts to computerise their records and eventually develop that into a fully integrated local Land Information System that should eventually be linked to the National System. / Thesis (M.Sc.Sur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Black fanners' contribution and percentage share of the marketed agricultural produce (especially maize and cotton) increased dramatically following Zimbabwe's independence, especially between 1982 and 1987. Almost unanimously, observers in government and diplomatic circles spoke of this increase as 'phenomenal', attributing it to being a direct result of the government's efforts to increase agricultural production, and calling it a 'success story' and 'agrarian miracle'. This 'miracle' description was adopted by the state controlled and independent media, international donor and 'development' agencies, alike. By 1992, the levels of production achieved in the mid-1980s would not be repeated and this was blamed primarily on drought and the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) adopted by government in 1990. The direct impact of ESAP was the further reduction of government capacity and resources available to support the resettlement sector. By 2000, Zimbabwe was embroiled in a rural upheaval that threatened, reversed and undennined all the gains of the 1980s. The miracle discourse disappeared and in its place agro-pessimism took centre space. The land question rose to the fore amid a heightened outcry of landlessness, Communal Area congestion, poor access to institutional support and declining livelihoods and food security, among other things. This renewed rural crisis raised questions about what had happened to the miracle, exposed the run-down economy, and deepened undemocratic tendencies and a polarised political, economic and social space. The thesis proposed here is that the Zimbabwean government failed to take advantage and expand on the potential for an increased role of the rural sector in the cash economy. What emerged from closer scrutiny of the so-called agrarian transfonnation package for African agriculture was a poorly designed, uncoordinated and under funded quick fix to rural development that hardly moved beyond the mere transfer of land. Notwithstanding the participation of rural communities in the war of national liberation and the high profile nature of the land question during the Second Chimurenga, the post-colonial state apparatus - dominated by an urban nationalist petit bourgeoisie on the one hand, and the weak lobby of the beneficiaries of land refonn on the other - placed African agriculture into the back-seat of policy and political economic priorities. Evidence from Mayo Resettlement Scheme, the primary case study in this thesis, suggests that the argued institutional support and structural changes (basis of the miracle) were at best minimal, under-funded, crisis-averse, ad hoc and poorly coordinated, lacking the support of a concrete policy base, making the miracle at most fragile and in the final analysis unsustainable. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science to the Faculty of Political Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This project employs a narrative and counter narrative lens to seek an understanding of the changing roles of traditional leaders in an independent Zimbabwe. A historical context was necessary in order to highlight changes in traditional leadership roles prior to the independence era. This process of using the historical context facilitated a discussion that was divorced from biases associated with colonialism and independence. To achieve this, a study was undertaken of the period prior to the colonial era, within the colonial era and post colonial period. This resulted in a rich discussion of the changing roles within each period together with implications to traditional leadership in an independent Zimbabwe. The study undertook a detailed review that provided the basis for the placement into the historical context that was supported by academic literature. The use of theory further consolidated the placement of the study in an academic context. Data collection and analysis were placed in narrative and counter narrative contexts using a thematic approach to find meaning to the study while addressing assertions that were raised in the study. The findings proved that traditional leaders in Zimbabwe have lost their powers and are partaking of new modern roles slowly divorced from the traditional context of both the pre and colonial era. It also proved that traditional leaders are aware of the changing roles and might be enjoying the benefits of the modern system at the expense of both tradition and culture. The other argument however is that traditional role conflicts with democratic processes and may not really be representative of a democratic government as these leaders are not elected. The findings of this study should highlight to the traditional leaders of the irreversible changing roles which only stand to maintain what could be an oppressive system similar to the colonial era unless it is checked and controlled. The study may also help academics and other interested parties that may be advocating for a separation of African systems in place of Western influenced governance despite the globalised nature of the world that maybe considered a disadvantage to poor countries. / MT2017

no abstract available / Development Studies / MA (DEVELOPMENT STUD)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa has led to the proliferation of peri-urban settlements close to cities. Development policy in these areas is multi-pronged. Residents with local tribal, as well as migrant backgrounds take land matters into their own hands. This leads to diverse land transactions and changing household survival strategies. My research investigates the complex interactions between land transactions, Rural Development Policy (RDP), and the emergent household survival strategies between 2002 and 2012 in the peri-urban communal area of Domboshava in Zimbabwe located northeast of Harare the capital city. Domboshava is classified as 'rural' and is administered by traditional authority as well as a local authority called Goromonzi Rural District Council. This Council considers RDP as a solution to increased individualized land transactions. My thesis is based on field research of a case study comprising four villages of Domboshava. Forty-one local residents, as well as a number of key informants such as Traditional Leaders and local government officials were sampled for the study. Qualitative data were collected through structured interviews, review of pertinent documents, as well as observation. The research findings reveal that the rapid pace of urbanization across Africa is widespread and poses key challenges to policies on rural development and land tenure more generally. Research evidence shows the changing practice in access to land rights in Domboshava by migrants from other parts of the country. As a result, land transactions shift from customary inheritance in the tribal line to individualized land transactions such as direct land sales and renting thereby privileging financially better-off households. Household survival strategies also shift from farm based to off-farm and non-farm activities because of the influence of land transactions and a multi-pronged RDP. Changes in household survival strategies of community residents of Domboshava were however not influenced by land transactions and RDP alone, but also by wider political and economic shifts and state interventions such as Operation Restore Order/Operation Murambatsvina and the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. The practice of a multi-pronged RDP as a solution to land transactions in Domboshava became part of the problem as land transactions proliferated unabated. This research is an important topic within the Sociology of Development, and provides useful insights regarding debates on land, policy, and survival strategies in peri-urban communal areas, not only in Domboshava in Zimbabwe, but in sub-Saharan Africa. Appropriate policies that address these peri-urban challenges in Zimbabwe are sorely needed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verstedeliking in Afrika het gelei tot die vermenigvuldiging van buite-stedelike nedersettings naby stede. Ontwikkelingsbeleid in hierdie areas het vele vertakkings. Inwoners van plaaslike stamsgebiede asook van migrante agtergronde neem grondsake in eie hande. Dit lei tot uiteenlopende grondtransaksies en veranderende huishoudelike oorlewingstategiëe. My navorsing ondersoek die komplekse interaksies tussen grondtransaksies, landelike ontwikkelingsbeleid (LOB), en die opkomende huishoudelike oorlewingstategiëe tussen die jare 2002 en 2012 in die buite-stedelike kommunale area van Domboshava in Zimbabwe, gelëe noord-oos van Harare, die hoofstad van Zimbabwe. Dombashava is geklassifiseer as 'landelik' en word geadministreer deur 'n tradisionele owerheid sowel as 'n plaaslike owerheid wat bekend staan as die 'Goromonzi Rural District Council'. Ontwikkelingsbeleid word deur hierdie Raad gesien as oplossing vir toenemende individuele grondtransaksies. Die huidige navorsing is gebasseer op veldwerk van 'n gevallestudie van vier dorpies in Dombashava. Een-en-veertig plaaslike inwoners sowel as 'n aantal sleutelinformante soos tradisionele leiers en plaaslike regeringsamptenare was deel van 'n steekproef vir die studie. Kwalitatiewe data is ingesamel deur middel van gestruktureerde onderhoude, bestudering van pertinente dokumente asook waarneming. Die navorsingsresultate toon dat die vinnige pas van verstedeliking deur Afrika 'n algemene verskynsel is en dat dit belangrike uitdagings bied vir beleid oor landelike ontwikkeling, en grondpag in die besonder. Navorsingsbevindinge wys die veranderende patrone in toegang tot grondregte van migrante van ander dele van die land. Dit toon dat grondtransaksies verskuif het van gewone oorerwing binne stamverband na geindiwidualiseerde grondtransakies soos bv. direkte grondverkope en verhuring om dan sodoende huishoudings wat finansieel beter daaraan toe is, te bevoordeel. Huishoudelike oorlewingstategiëe het ook verskuif vanaf boerderygebasseer na nie- boerderygebasseerde aktiwiteite as gevolg van die invloed van nuwe grondtransaksies en komplekse LOB. Die veranderings in huishoudelike oorlewingstategiëe van inwoners van Dombashava was egter nie slegs beïnvloed deur grondtransaksies en LOB nie, maar ook deur wyer politieke en ekonomiese veranderinge en deur intervensies deur die staat soos “Operation Restore Order/ Operation Murambatsvina” en die “Fast Track Land Reform Programme”. Die praktyk vangrondbeleid met vele vertakkings as oplossing vir grondtransakies in die Dombashava area het deel geword van die probleem soos wat grondtransaksies ongekontrolleerd toegeneem het. Hierdie navorsing is 'n belangrike onderwerp binne die Sosiologie van Ontwikkeling en gee bruikbare insigte in die debatte rondom grond, beleid en oorlewingstategiëe in buite-stedelike kommunale gebiede naby stede, nie alleenlik in Dombashava in Zimbabwe nie, maar ook elders in Afrika. Toepaslike beleid wat hierdie buite-stedelike uitdagings in Zimbabwe aanspreek is dringend noodsaaklik.

This thesis conducts postcolonial readings of 1 Kings 21:1-29 within the context of the struggle for land in Zimbabwe. It is an attempt to investigate the historical and sociological contexts of Zimbabwe and Ancient Israel. The thesis traces the land issue trajectory across both the colonial and post-colonial terrain of Zimbabwe. In the process, this thesis identifies four key moments which it considers as major in the struggle for land in Zimbabwe, which are: the historical moment of the colonization of Zimbabwe; the moment of the Second War of Liberation; the moment of the independent Zimbabwe; and the moment of the current land invasions and land grabbing in Zimbabwe. The thesis has made an attempt to explain the significance of land in Ancient Israel, in an endeavour to understand why Naboth the Jezreelite would not easily succumb to Ahab`s demand for his family land. In this way the Naboth story is located within its socio-historical context. It has also demonstrated that the advent of the monarchy introduced a tributary socio-economic system which replaced the egalitarian social order. In addition, this dissertation has shown that the monarchy introduced land expropriation in Israel and Judah, which was a departure from the inalienability of land, a concept very popular with pre-monarchic Israel and Judah. The issues of the abuse of power and the injustice that was prevalent under both the united as well as the divided monarchies were also discussed At the end, the thesis has attempted to bring the context of the struggle for land in Zimbabwe in dialogue, contrapuntally with the context of the confrontation over land between Ahab and Naboth the Jezreelite, that is, allowing both similarities and differences to manifest or emerge in this dialogue, so that a complete interpretation of the text may be achieved by allowing the context and the text to interrogate and investigate each other. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

no abstract available / Development Studies / MA (DEVELOPMENT STUD)

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1975.

Zimbabwean rural women make significant contribution to agriculture and are the mainstay of the farm labour. Although women do the majority of agricultural work, men, for the most part continue to own the land, control women‟s labour and make agricultural decisions supported by patriarchal social systems. Thus, rural women faced difficulties than men in gaining access to land under Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Women‟s relationship with land is therefore through husbands, fathers, brothers or sons. Therefore, this study has undertaken with the objective of assessing the impact of land distribution programme with respect to its contribution to women‟s empowerment in the study area. The Gender and Development approach was employed to assess women access to land under the FTLRP. Such an approach to rural development can help in reducing the gender gap between women and men in order to achieve gender-balanced development. The study used qualitative research methodology where semi-structured interviews gather data from women in Mutasa District. Findings indicate that there are a number of challenges and constraints that are experienced by rural women under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme which include male land registration, no access to credit, inadequate government input support, lack of government laws and policies awareness on women land rights, shortage of farm implements and irrigation water supply and lack of agriculture training. On the other hand, culture and traditional practices still affect women in other cases, disadvantaging them in favour of men, as in inheritance of land and property in the household. It was generally assumed that the programme did not improve women access to land. To improve women access to land, in future, the study recommends that a serious intervention by the state should occur coupled with the revitalization of the programme and a paradigm shift towards an effective food security programme which emphasizes women and their important role in agriculture.