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Perspectives on the restitution programme with special reference to the Mamahlola Community in the Maruleng Local Municipality of Limpopo Province

Thesis (Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The purpose of this study is to investigate perspectives of the restitution
programme with special reference to the Mamahlola community in the Maruleng
Municipality of Limpopo Province in South Africa. The community is among the
many who were dispossessed of their land during the apartheid era. After a long
struggle, empowered by new legislation passed on the country’s attainment of
democracy in 1994, the community received their dispossessed land back.
Based on a qualitative research design, the study uses semi-structured
interviews to collect data. Three focus groups participated in the study. These
consist of the Banareng ba Letsoalo Tribal Council, the Maruleng Local
Municipality Ward 9 Ward Committee and the Mamahlola Communal Property
Association. The findings of this research reveal that, ironically, the land
restitution programme did not bring any improvement to the livelihoods of the
Mamahlola community, as would have been expected. Instead, it raised
accusations of financial maladministration, poor communication, mistrust, conflict
and divisions within the previously homogenous community. The study
recommends that the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and
the Department of Agriculture should play oversight roles in all settled restitution
claims relating to food production, to ensure continuity and proper financial
management. Secondly, it recommends that beneficiaries should be trained in
skills relevant to land activities to ensure that the owners of the land work the
land. Thirdly, the settlement plan should include an employment plan for the
beneficiaries to ensure that they also benefit from the land; and lastly, the issue
of the distance between the current location and the claimed land needs to be
addressed as part of the settlement plan, as it seems to have contributed
significantly to the failures of the Mamahlola project and contradicts the objectives
of the restitution programme.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ul/oai:ulspace.ul.ac.za:10386/3850
Date January 2021
CreatorsLetsoalo, Modjadji Moorane Meriam
ContributorsMoyo, T.
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatvii, 98 leaves
RelationPDF

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