Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
make adequate provisions for optimal beneficiary selection. At the same time, the black
population that was entering the mainstream economy as emerging farmers lacked the skills
and experience for effective and productive participation in a formal economic system,
while the crucial post-settlement support necessary to overcome this disadvantage was
either completely absent or so badly structured that it was irrelevant.
The recommendation of the 2005 Land Summit for establishing 'inclusive partnerships
and collaboration across government departments and civil society' is incontestable.
According to the 1979 World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development,
equitable distribution of land does not answer all the questions; the redistributed land has
to be utilized efficiently for the ultimate objectives of rural development, human resource
mobilization, increased production and poverty alleviation to be achieved (FAO, 1979; De
Janvry, 1984). This is where inclusive partnerships and inter-departmental collaborations
and coordination come into the equation and calls for development of area-based plans that
are at once integrated, inclusive, participatory and flexible.
This chapter provides a more formal review of the relevant literature on the evolution of
the land question in South Africa. However, the review recognizes that the South African
land question cannot be viewed in isolation since it is inconceivable that a phenomenon
of such enormity could have failed to draw from broader global experiences and lessons.
Even if the South African experience ultimately turns out to be unique, there is intellectual
value in having a framework for comparison and for pronouncing one way or the other.
Furthermore, there is a need to make some contribution to the on-going debate on various
aspects of land in the country which imposes the obligation to present a balanced discussion.
In view of the foregoing, this chapter will examine the economics and politics of land and
how it has evolved as a formidable tool not only for economic development planning but
also for political management and organization of society. Several instances are known
worldwide where land has either created the motivation for political action of one type or
the other, or has become an important outcome of such actions. The extent to which such
experiences are systematic obviously has relevance for policy. For this reason, the different
roles that land can and do play, within a multifunctional conception of agriculture, are
reviewed. Attention will then be turned to the way and manner land entered the politics of
South Africa and how this has governed and mediated political, social and economic life
in the country ever since. Within this framework, the legislative developments that have
charted the course of land ownership and distribution in the country are reviewed. Early
remedial efforts, even during the heydays of apartheid dominance, will also be highlighted
as precursors for the new legislations and policies that are now trying to achieve redress and
right the wrongs of the past. In this regard, such issues as the series of debates on a possible
land tax in the country and the taxing of capital gains will be touched upon.
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