This research study aims to investigate the South African Land Reform process from a conflict resolution perspective. According to Burton’s basic human needs theory deep-rooted social conflict will occur wherever social institutions neglect universal basic human needs. Excess to land and land tenure are considered basic human needs because they provide landowners with food, shelter and security. In absence of an extensive welfare state, land ownership fulfils the role of a social safety network, particularly in African countries. Consequently, an equal distribution of land is needed in order to enable the majority of South Africans to fulfil their basic human needs. The instrument chosen for correcting the inequalities in land distribution are the three components of the South African land reform programme namely tenure reform, restitution and redistribution. The South African Land Reform Programme was largely influenced by the World Bank’s ‘Willing-Seller Willing- Buyer’ or ‘Negotiated Land Reform Approach’. Nevertheless, the South African model differs from the original concept by the World Bank in some aspects. The outcome of the Land Reform Process is analysed and evaluated by the on-going evaluation approach. All sources used in this research are open to the public and published either on official websites or in hard cover version in reports and articles. The results of this investigation indicate that the target of redistributing 30% of white-owned agricultural land by the year 2014 is not going to be accomplished. Nevertheless, the settlement of claims can be considered a success story although most of the claims were settled by means of cash compensation instead of actual land transfer. Furthermore, a change in the land acquisition policy from a demand-led approach based on the negotiated land reform principle towards a more static, state-led, top-down approach has been identified as well as shortcomings in the post-settlement support of new landowners. To put it briefly, the land reform process in toto is about to fail and a chance of reducing the enormous conflict potential given away. Furthermore, the conflict potential will increase due to the failures in providing the poor and rural masses with access to land.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:8166 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Wächter, Felix |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Arts |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MPhil |
| Format | v, 109 leaves ; 31 cm, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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