Evaluation of land reform projects in the South-Eastern Free State

Abstract

The situation before the 1994 democratic general elections was that White commercial farmers, companies and government owaed 87% of the land, while Black furmers who are in the majority, owned 13% of the land in South Africa. After the elections, land reform gained a central place in the RDP, which envisioned the transfer of 30% of the land to the emerging farmers within 5 years, enabling them to participate in the economic mainstream of the country, and upgrade their living standards, enhance socio-economic upliftment and secure their tenure rights. . The objective of the research is to assess the following factors in relation to land reform: organisational framework, management structure, financial resources and usage, contribution of women in the projects, forms oflegal entities, sources of conflict, government support, land potential and its usage, communication, and socio-economic benefits. The problem in land reform seems to be that production, socio-economic circumstances and resource management ofthe furms declined after the transfer of the land to the beneficiaries. The study reveals that the failure ofland reform in the South Eastern Free State is due to the fact that the natural resources on each ofthe projects, except Matsididi, are totally inadequate. Additional problems are: lack of common property management, lack of institutional support, lack of managerial skill and knowledge, lack of technical support, lack of financial support, neglect of institutional dimension, over-<:entralisation and rigidity, and lack of gender participation. The study also confirms the need for a new constructive process so as to allow groups as well as individuals to participate in the development process and also have greater control over their own destiny. It is obvious from the study that the process of review and restructuring of land reform will not be achieved without problems. To ensure a smooth process, not only will the participation of all parties involved be necessary, but substantial inputs from the Department of Land Affairs and Agriculture and other relevant government departments will also be required. An integrated development approach in land reform will be needed, based on efficient land evaluation and on well-structured, controlled and strategic land reform programmes whereby social, economic and institutional capacity building are incorporated into a holistic development process.