As a national key priority programme, land reform acts as a driving force for rural development and building the economy of the country. In order for land reform to contribute to sustainable livelihoods for land reform beneficiaries, it must be supported by diversified programmes of pre- and post-settlement support of agrarian reform in a non-centralised and non-bureaucratic manner. Post-settlement support in the context of South African land reform refers to post-transfer support or settlement support given to land reform beneficiaries after they have received land. Support services, or complementary development support, as specified in the White Paper of the South African Land Policy of 1996, include assistance with productive and sustainable land use, agricultural extension services support, infrastructural support, access to markets and credit facilities, and agricultural production inputs. Government’s mandate is, however, not only restricted to the redistribution of land or making land more accessible. It is also responsible for empowering beneficiaries and for creating an effective support foundation to ensure that sustainable development takes place, specifically in the rural areas of the country. In practice, sustainable development entails that, for land reform to be successful, the quality of life of beneficiaries must improve substantially and the acquired land must be utilised to its full commercial potential, after resettlement on claimed land has occurred. Therefore, an effective post-settlement support strategy and model must be set in place. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration (DARDLA) are the key departments that have been mandated to implement the Land Reform Programme (LRP). DRDLR is responsible for facilitation of the land acquisition (pre-settlement support) and DARDLA for post-settlement support, ensuring that the land or farms that have been delivered or acquired by land beneficiaries are economically viable. Without post-settlement support, land reform will not yield to sustainable development and nor improve the quality of life of rural people. There is, however, little or no evidence to suggest that land reform has led to improved efficiency, improvement of livelihoods, job creation or economic growth. Against this background, the study investigated and unlocked the key challenges related to the post-settlement support of the LRP, with emphasis on the agricultural support programmes rendered by the DARDLA in Mpumalanga Province to land reform beneficiaries. It further examined how such support impacts on the sustainability of the LRP, and made recommendations to the management of the Department on what could be done to further improve post-settlement support to land reform projects towards achieving the objective of sustainable development. / M Public Administration, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa, emerging from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism embarked on an ambitious land reform programme during the 1990’s. It was anticipated that land reform would take place effectively and sustainably. However, evidence to date revealed that land reform has been a failure and the cause thereof can be attributed to the lack of post settlement support. The focus of the research was to find out whether post-settlement support is the reason behind successful projects and if so to highlight the necessity of post-settlement support in land reform projects. The methodology used was through review of literature, legislations and policies on land reform and analysis of case studies. Outcome of the research indicates an intricate relationship between land reform and post-settlement support. The transfer of land to land reform beneficiaries must go hand in hand with the effective provision of post-settlement support for projects to be success and sustainable. / College of Law / LL.M

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / The dawn of a democratic South Africa in 1994 was seen as the beginning of a new era in South Africa. Land Reform, as a matter of moral reconciliation, and within the context of rural development, was high on the agenda to be addressed by the new democratic ANC-led government. Although South Africa’s history of systematic racial land dispossession is not unique; the extent of the dispossession, and racial nature of the dispossession gave a uniqueness to South Africa’s land history. In 1994 the racially skewed land ownership pattern reflected that 55 000 white commercial farmers owned 87 per cent of the land, yet the African majority of had access to 13 per cent of the marginal land. The land reform imperative was restricted in approach by the compromise reached during the negotiations resulting in a transitional government for South Africa. In addition, the early 1990’s, was a period of increasing dominance of the neo-liberal ideology with its minimal state and minimal state intervention, and reliance on the free market principles informing interventions and programmes. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa enshrined private property rights protection; and whilst given recognition to the requirement of land reform it enshrined a market-led approach with enabling legislation and policy statements such as a “willing-buyer/willing-seller” requirements for redistribution and market related prices for land acquisition. The Department of Land Affairs, a national government department, was tasked with the development and implementation of land redistribution. Therefore, despite the neo-liberal principles informing land reform, a state-led approach towards the actual implementation was embarked upon. In 1998 a target was set to be achieved within 5 years; which the Department failed dismally to reach. The target was then extended to be reached by 2014, and the thesis predicts that unless the delivery mechanism currently utilised for land redistribution is changed the target will not be reached by 2014. The New Public Management paradigm, and various alternative delivery mechanisms have been considered, in addition to assessing the delivery mechanisms and approaches towards land reform in Brazil and the Philippines in an attempt to identify suitable delivery mechanisms for land reform in South Africa to enable it to achieve its target and objectives. A detailed evaluation of an existing Public-Private Partnership, which exists to implement land redistribution was undertaken in terms of primary data collection and secondary data statistics. The evaluation assessed whether this delivery mechanism will enable targets to be met and land redistribution objectives in relation to rural development be achieved. The thesis argues that the Public-Private Partnerships alternative delivery mechanism is a suitable vehicle to delivery land redistribution across agriculture commodities, with key recommendations on matters to address within the PPP mechanism. For land reform to be implemented at the required scale and to achieve its developmental objectives innovation is required within partnership approaches and not a traditional bureaucratic-led approach.

Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to evaluate business plans which support governmental grants to emerging farmers in the Winelands area of the Western Cape. The study focuses primarily on two types of emerging farmer groups namely (i) farm equity groups and (ii) individual farmers (less than 10 members per farm). Empowering disadvantaged people is exceedingly complex, therefore it is of paramount importance to compile a detailed and comprehensive business plan based on a proper feasibility study. If a project is not feasible on paper it will rarely succeed in practice. Four LRAD business plans per group were evaluated and have been scored against a contents list, which was compiled from an ideal farm business plan. This was followed up with a questionnaire to evaluate the current situation on the farms and to test the understanding of the business plan and its elements with the beneficiaries. There is a clear distinction in the quality of business plans between the equity scheme land reform models and individual farmer’s business plans. The quality of the equity farmer’s business plan was in most cases around 25 percent better compared to those of the individual farmers. The result of the study shows that there is a direct link between the quality of the business plan and the sustainability of the projects. Lower scored individual farmer projects under review, struggle to stay afloat with a weak cash flow as their main drawback. On the other hand the better scored equity scheme projects are much more sustainable; however more focus needs to be placed on developing the shareholders in the understanding of the financial side and land ownership principals. The author is of the opinion that only feasible projects must receive grant funding and this should be supported by good mentorship policies from government. South Africa can no longer afford “social business plans” in the land reform process; there is a need for sound farm business plans as a very important first step to feasible and sustainable farming ventures. The methodology developed in this study could become a valuable tool for government departments for directly measuring the quality of business plans and thereby indirectly the feasibility of land reform projects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om 'n metodiek te ontwikkel waarmee plaas besigheidsplanne geёalueer kan word vir die aansoek van skenkings (“grant”) fondse vir opkomende boere in die Kaapse Wynlandarea. Die studie fokus hoofsaaklik op twee tipes groepe, naamlik (i) plaas aandele skema groepe en (ii) individuele boere (minder as 10 lede per plaas). Die bemagtiging van opkomende boere is baie kompleks, daarom is dit baie belangrik om 'n gedetailleerde en omvattende besigheidsplan, gegrond op' n behoorlike ondersoek na die haalbaarheid, daar te stel. As 'n projek op papier nie haalbaar is nie, gaan dit nie sommer suksesvol wees in die praktyk nie. Vier LRAD besigheidsplanne per groep is geëvalueer teen 'n inhoudslys wat vanaf ‘n ideale plaas besigheidsplan saamgestel is. Dit is opgevolg met 'n vraelys om die huidige situasie op die plase te evalueer en die begrip van die besigheidsplan en sy elemente te toets. ‘n Duidelike kwaliteits verskil kan gesien word tussen die aandeel skema boere -en individuele boere se besigheidsplanne. Die gehalte van die aandeel skema boere se planne was in die meeste gevalle ongeveer 25 persent beter as dié van die individuele boere. Die studie kan 'n direkte lyn trek tussen die besigheidsplan inligting en die volhoubaarheid van die projekte. Die individuele boere- projekte onder oorsig sukkel om kop bo water te hou met 'n swak kontantvloei as hulle belangrikste nadeel. Aan die ander kant, is die aandeleskema projekte baie meer volhoubaar, maar meer fokus moet geplaas word op die ontwikkeling van die aandeelhouers se begrip van die finansiële kant van die boerdery asook eienaarskap op die plaas. Die tyd het aangebreek dat slegs haalbare projekte befonds moet word en dat die regering hierdie projekte moet ondersteun met goeie mentorskap beleid. Daar is nie meer plek vir "sosiale besigheids planne" in die Suid-Afrikaanse grondhervormingsproses nie. Goeie werkbare plaas besigheidsplanne is nodig as 'n baie belangrike eerste stap om volhoubare boerdery ondernemings daar te stel. Hierdie studie is 'n waardevolle hulpmiddel in die regering se hand vir die evaluering van besigheidsplanne van grondhervormings projekte.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Science and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

No description available.

No description available.

Apartheid and colonialism left deep imprints on contemporary South African society. Nowhere are these more compellingly apparent than in the highly skewed distribution of land between whites and blacks. At the beginning of the 1990' s, it was estimated that 12 million black people lived on only 17.1 million hectares of land, whilst 60,000 white commercial farmers occupied 86.2 million hectares. Since democratisation in 1994 various modes of land redistribution have emerged in South Africa to redistribute farmland to previously disadvantaged people. In 1994, an African National Congress (ANC)-led government initiated a land redistribution programme by offering Settlement/Land Acquisition Grants (SLAG) to previously disadvantaged South Africans to purchase formerly white-owned farms on a willing buyer-willing seller basis. The aim of SLAG was to redistribute 30 per cent of the country's commercial farmland to previously disadvantaged South Africans within five years. However, by the end of the first five years less than two per cent of white-owned farmland was transferred to previously disadvantaged South Africans. Government responded by introducing a new grant programme, the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) programme in August 2001 with a less ambitious objective of transferring 30 per cent of white-owned farmland to previously disadvantaged South Africans over 15 years (i.e. two percent per annum). In addition to the government's land redistribution programme, private and semi-private initiatives have emerged to redistribute farmland to previously disadvantaged people. The BASIS Collaborative Research Support Programme sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has monitored government (SLAG) and private farmland transactions in the province of KwaZulu-Natal since 1997. This study builds on these previous analyses of farmland transactions by comparing the performance of LRAD relative to private transactions in transferring farmland to previously disadvantaged South Africans during 2002, and contrasts the results with those from years 1997 to 2001. Results from the study indicate that the launch of LRAD in 2001 had a significant impact on land redistribution in 2002. In KwaZulu-Natal, the rate of land redistribution doubled from 0.5 per cent in 2001 to one percent in 2002. The results also show that LRAD has not only succeeded in drawing private resources into the land reform process, but has also been more successful in targeting women than the earlier SLAG programme. Findings further show that unlike the earlier (SLAG) programme, LRAD offers larger grants to wealthier and more-creditworthy beneficiaries and is therefore conducive to establishing farms owned and operated by individuals or by small groups of individuals. A small area (1,454 hectares) was transferred back to previously advantaged owners in 2002. Such transactions were not detected before 2002 and should be monitored to identify the underlining reasons for these sales. It is also recommended that research should be conducted to ascertain whether improvements in the rate of land redistribution in KwaZulu-Natal during 2002 will be sustained in the future. / Thesis (M.Agric.Mgt.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Science and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Science and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.