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Home > Research > Country Studies > South Africa > Land Occupation in South Africa

Monitoring Paper Part II- Land Occupation in South Africa

November 20, 2003

Part II of this paper concludes with a final evaluation of South African social, political and challenges of geography that have influenced land occupation over the decades. In closing, the author identifies key issues and lessons for the future.

Mfaniseni Fana Sihlongonyane   (More by this author)
National Land Committee (NLC)   (More from this organization)
South Africa
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Continued from Part I

9.0 KEY ISSUES AND LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

There are a number of issues that are emerging within the struggle for land occupation especially in the spate of the new social movements that are emerging. The following have been noted.



9.1 Rhetorical struggle for land: The struggle for land is largely defensive in nature. A coherent political programme for social change does not underscore it. It is reactive and casual. It lost the oomph and the zest that drove the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1980s. It lost the supporting thrust of civic organisations, labour and students. These have now been caught up with anti-globalisation struggles and the support for land largely remains rhetorical. Most NGOs have also focused on more fashionable and political rewarding issues e.g. HIV/AIDS, poverty, environment, etc at the expense of politically sensitive issues such as land.







9.2 Shift in Land Struggle: The pursuit of the struggle for land redistribution has changed since 1994 in two ways. Firstly, the struggle now has shifted from being embraced by the major political parties, unions and civics to being driven by community-based organizations that are directly affected by the issues of land. A new tide of a struggle for land has emerged that seems to be inimical to the interests, not just of government, but its partners such as Cosatu and civics. The alliance has created a dampening of the protest spirit and containment of the revolutionary struggle. Secondly, victims affected on the ground now, generate the struggle for land. These are people who not opposed not only the apartheid injustices, but also the continuation and creation of new injustices within the post-apartheid system.



9.3 Fragmentation in the Struggle for land: There is lack of a coherent widespread synthesis of the struggle. Whilst instances of collaboration and common areas of objectives, programmes and grievances recognizable, there is no clear common enemy. Whilst some attack government at national level, some attach it at local levels, some at provincial levels and even others attach privatization/globalisation. The enemy seems to be varying from national to local and to global targets. This creates some subtle senses of confusion and uncertainties about the target of the struggle, focus areas and means of achieving the objectives of the struggle. Thus, most of the groups seem to be sheer pressure groups without ideological persuasion and without a clear technical and structural organ to pursue its ideals. In some cases their organization appears to be periodical and casual, in others their relations with government are ambiguous and shifting. There is also a shaky side to the relations that have with NGOs and amongst themselves. In other cases, the organizations themselves are not clear whether they are NGOs, CBOs or simply a pressure group, a weapon for social mobilization.



9.4 Gap between Theory and Practice: The interview with the Chairperson of the LPM and some members of the social movements show that there is a gap between theory and practice. The policies (laws, bills and white papers) which government has put in place cannot be adhered do or fulfilled with the capacity that the government have. Thus, lot of communities is now pinning government down on policy issues. For example, the eviction of farm workers continues irrespective of the legislation proscribing against it. The chairperson cited cases where government seems ineffective to curb this. Bribery and collusion between white farmers and government police and officials creates bottlenecks to the creation of any solution. This demonstrates the dilemma in which government finds itself in a catch 22 situation, where is has to develop policies to fulfill the ideals of a progressive democracy, yet at the same time be sensitive to the obligations of the market dynamics.



9.5 LPM Carries promise: Such a firm organizational structure, which carries promise, is the Landless People’s Movement. It provides a good start for the creation of a solidarity struggle for land amongst different people working on land. The Challenge that still stand is the harmonization of the different perspectives to land reform, the skewness of priorities and positions regarding land reform, the shaky organizational structure of some of the players, the superficial nature of the networks and partnerships, lack of resources and the political willingness for all concerned to push the land issue forward.



9.6 Communication plan: What can be recognised here is that there are numerous organizations at international, national and local spheres that have an interest to land reform in both urban and rural areas. Their focus is diverse though in terms of gender, rights, development, environmental, area, etc. These organizations are connected through networks in complex webs and strings between and within cities and rural areas. A good and effective communication plan is critical to their success. This plan should deal with ideological, language, gender, and remote barriers.



9.7 International collaborative partnerships counts: The land struggle should go beyond the national boundaries because the fight is against a common system that has ravaged black people in the region and in the whole world. There is need therefore to develop a global struggle against landlessness beyond the rhetoric of ‘WSSD show off struggles.’ The struggle must be underscored by a practical implementable plan of changing people’s lives. Thus, the networks that NLC has made with organizations such as MST, etc should be developed into a worldwide struggle against landlessness. This should help influence the international agenda in terms of raising the land issue as a priority.



9.8 Mobilising and strengthening grassroots support: There are currently week institutional bridges that connect national leaderships of peasant movements and other external ally organization such as NGOs with the grassroots organisations. This is because the current market friendly mechanisms divide and weaken rural social movements. The market policies is in favour of those that are better amongst the peasants, e.g. tenant farmers, and regular farm workers, at the expense of the rural poor since the market favours those who are economically efficient and abreast with competitive use of land resources. In certain cases, it consolidates pre-existing patron-client relationships between peasants and elites, or creates new lines of patronage based on market relations. It is thus, at the disadvantage of women because in all likelihood, they are new and few in the competitive world.



9.9 Land Reform Recast: It means engaging the praxis of land reform more realistically and avoiding developmentalism – the tendency to pursue development for the sake of it to keep buoyant without practical results to benefit the poor. The land reform needs to be recast to take into consideration the needs of the people rather than the market. The Land reform currently is focusing on mobilizing the market rather than meeting the poor people’s needs. Priority, approach, timing and locational issues must be dealt with in the policy.



9.10 Strategic Intervention: There is a need for a strategic approach to land reform. This should take into consideration the fact that the land issues are diverse in the various parts of the country. The economic, political and social framework, population composition, historical dynamics etc determines the kind of strategic action to be taken. The tendency to apply a ‘blanket strategy’ falsifies the specific situations. Whilst one situation may warrant land invasion, another may need sheer negotiation to acquire a piece of land. A range of strategies therefore needs to be developed.



9.11 Mediation: The activity of land reform requires the creation of a structure for mediation. Currently the mediation organ is only targeted at the Land Claims but the conflicts that occur at local levels are left to legal and policy enforcement procedures. A tense environment is created through these procedures and it stifles any move to procure action within the land reform programme.



9.12 Data Collection: The process of land reform has been made to be demand driven in disfavour those communities that have less organizational ability and resources to make their claims. Also government has been able to avoid confronting the land issue head on spawning to a historic rhetoric of the land reform because of land of data. There is a need to develop data on the following:

· People who need land on the basis of their land right e.g. forced removals

· People who need land on the basis of economic reasons

· People who need land for commercial reasons

· People who need land for traditional and religious reasons

· Land audit of ownership of land per province

· Land use patterns of land per province

· Land capacity for production per province per farm.



9.13 Research Areas: Data collections can be developed by undertaking research to do the following among other things: Develop a land audit, Relation between land and HIV/AIDS, Mapping of forced removals per province, Historical data about forced removals, Culture and land reform, Religion and Land reform, Land and technology and environment and Ownership dynamics of land since apartheid.



9:14 Militancy and Developmental approach: Any form of land struggle should not sheer be a political gimmick. It must be backed up by a development plan. This will bring on board the civic society organs in rendering technical support to the militancy. In the process, it would allow a community driven process, rather than one that entirely depend on government. As well, this will be a move towards policy reform of the land reform programme. As the situation stands, land delivery highly depends on the government’s World Bank determined policy framework, which has demonstrably shown its failure.



9:15 Education: A lot of people still have a very thin knowledge about land reform. This is complicated by the fact that there is a lot of orgnisations sending diverse information about land e.g. NGOs, consultants, government, etc. This creates a cloud of confusion amongst the landless. Education about the land reform and about the Landless people’s approach and plans should be undertaken in a more radical manner. This could be done by: Media advertisement, Newsletters, Leaflets, Internet webs, Educating chiefs and other traditional leaders, Educating civics and labour leaders

10.0 CONCLUSION

The land question is a long-standing issue in South African politics and is fundamental to human rights, development and prosperity of the people. It is the basis on which the political and economic changes that occur especially in developing countries are determined. To a large extent, besides religion, it is the primary dynamic factor to processes of imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism and has had repercussions for the determination of power in the processes of production, distribution and exchange. However, no matter how critical this issue has been, it has been overshadowed by more politically rewarding issues such as: housing, employment creation, infrastructure, etc.



The resounding coincidence between the Zimbabwean and Bredell land occupations at the verge of the conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Durban brought the issue to the fore. This occurred at the hindsight of the reverberating echoes of “Seattle style resistance,” “Genoa, the repeat” and the sense of continuum for the struggle held up anxiety for resistance politics. Such anxiety was generated by the apparent limited land delivery by government and the pressing problems that are experienced by people on the ground.



The attitude of government is that of fostering stability and conformity with the state’s programe, but the response of the communities and some NGOs is that of exerting pressure to government. This has generated tensions between government and some NGOs around issues of funding, alliance, support and technical assistance. Many NGOs are at pains to redefine their stand visa vies government. Others are torn between alliances and ambiguities of purpose and a re-introspection is underway.



Whilst this introspection ensued, it is apparent that there is a ground swell in community social movements that raises land demands. Varied, vibrant, variegated as they are, they seem to have common points of convergence especially around the obliterating effects of the neo-liberal policies. But, as well there are practical differences in approach, strength and attitudes towards government and to one another. This suggests that the playfield for social movements in South Africa is yet to be cleared of humps and ditches.





































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Appendix 1. South African Emerging Social Movements

Name


Date formed


Membership


Objectives


Slogan or statement


Alliances


Government relations

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)


December 1998


From diverse political backgrounds


Ensuring proper, affordable treatment for Aids sufferers, preventing and eliminating new HIV infections and fostering HIV/AIDS treatment literacy


-


Links with more than 170 local and international organisations. Incl: Cosatu, Medecins sans Frontieres


Conciliatory

Anti-Privatisation Forum


2000


Umbrella of 16 small organizations incl. Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, Katlehong Concerned Resident’s Forum & working Class Coordinating Committee


Mobilize against privatisation


“Basic rights can not be commodified”


Cosatu and South African Municipal worker’s Union


Adversarial

National Land Committee


1987


Affiliates work on issues against land forced removals


Network and social mobilisation of all organization working on land issues


“Government land programmes are severely limited and the promises made to the people have not been met” Hlathwayo


MST, regional and international organisations


Becoming tentious

Education Rights Project


2001


Joint initiative with Centre for Applied Studies and Education Policy Centre at Wits University


Enforces the right to basic education.

Opposes privatisation


“The ERP is not a social movement but our work is linked to strengthening the social movements” Salim Vally

The State isshirking its responsibility. The cost of education is passed on to parents and education is becoming marketised” Vally


Legal researchers, educationists and civil society representatives

Active in Durban South, Orange Farm, Ikageng and Thembelihle

SACCAWU, Cosatu


Pressure group

Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee


2000


Residents concerned


Opposes cuts in water and electricity provision


“Its criminal to rob people of the necessities of life” “Mbeki uses revolutionary sounding phrases and ANC struggle credentials to implement a capitalist agenda’ Trevor Ngwane


Anti-eviction campaign, concerned Citizens Forum and Zimbabwe Anti-privatisation Forum


Pressure group

The Landless People’s Movement


July 2001


Largest social movement




Opposes land forced removals



Year 2003 – year of the Landless


“Landless ness has been pushed under the carpet largely because it is seen as a socialist concern. A people centred rather than a market oriented approach is needed.’’ LPM Activist.


Concerned Citizens Forum


Threat to government

Jubilee South Africa


November 1998


Advocates for the scrapping of the Third World debt

Assists people claim against apartheid crimes


More than 60 civil society organization: incl.: Cosatu, SANGOCO,


“Debt cancellation is not an act of charity, its an act of justice “ Neville Gabriel


Local branch of the international Jubilee movement

Collaborates with Khulumani, Support Group


Cooperating with government

Concerned Citizens Forum


1997


Formed by a Prof. Fatima Meer formerly at the University of Durban Westville


Community movements in Greater Durban area

Against community electricity cuts, evictions, racism and water cut-offs

Against brutal Reaganomics.


“Smash Gear Celebrate Life”


Links with the Landless People’s movement and anti-eviction campaign


Press

###

 
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