This review critically examines the evolution of laws, policies and practices across colonial, apartheid and contemporary eras to identify the associated processes and patterns of uneven development and their contribution to the structural poverty and systemic inequality and the ways in which…

Debates about land redistribution from white farm owners to black hands tend to be silent on the question of farm dwellers. This is despite the fact that over two million black people are estimated to be living on commercial farms. Many residents have lived on commercial farms for generations,…

Coastal grab refers to the contested appropriation of coastal (shore and inshore) space and resources by outside interests. This paper explores the phenomenon of coastal grabbing and the effects of such appropriation on community-based conservation of local resources and environment. The…

As of 2017, the City of Cape Town offers little support to residents who will become homeless because of eviction, except a one way ticket to a relocation camp on the periphery of the city.  Good law led to a clear obligation to provide temporary emergency accommodation but was very poorly…

This is a documentary collating the experiences and stories of rural communities supported by the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA).
AFRA, in partnership with OZA and TA, assists women, youth and men residing or working on rural commercial farmland in the UMgungundlovu District to…

Twenty years after the end of apartheid farm dwellers remain some of the most vulnerable people in South Africa, with many still facing extreme tenure insecurity and lacking access to adequate housing and basic services.2 The approximately three million black South Africans (6% of the population…

As a country we need to prioritise the acquisition and development of land for settlement purposes if we are to make any impact on the demand for housing.  Between 1994 and 2014 the South African government provided more than 2.5 million houses and some 1.2 million serviced sites, but the…

Local level, collective small-scale farming projects in the Kat River Valley, like elsewhere, have proven difficult to sustain.  Various factors from macro-level policies to local level social and political dynamics were found to hinder or block the success of such projects.  Some of the most…

Issues surrounding labour tenancy in South Africa are controversial and complex. The issue is controversial in that that it currently reflects a struggle over access to land and tenure security that spans more than a century. The controversy surrounding labour tenancy derives from the fact that…

Background: In South Africa, the idea that the township economy needs to be ‘revitalised’ has begun to gain significant political traction. The Gauteng provincial government has responded to this challenge by setting out a strategy that promises to channel resources and create opportunities for…

Political transformations in most developing nations have been accompanied by vast land claims by indigenous communities who were forcibly detached from their traditional land during colonisation and apartheid-like dispensations. In the context of sub-Saharan African countries (including South…

This Notice of the Minister of Environmental Affairs, publishes the South Africa’s Marine Spatial Planning Framework for implementation.The Framework provides high-level direction for undertaking Marine Spatial Planning in the context of the South African legislation and policies as well as…