Comparative Lessons for Land Reform in South Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	Comparative Lessons for Land Reform in South Africa
Author:	Cloete, Fanie
Year:	1992
Periodical:	Africa Insight
Volume:	22
Issue:	4
Pages:	249-258
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	land reform Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Law, Human Rights and Violence Development and Technology
Abstract:	The reform of land tenure patterns is probably one of the most important but simultaneously one of the most intractable issues facing South Africa. The traditional attachment of Afrikaners and blacks to land, linked to the current racially skewed tenure patterns in favour of whites, and increasing demands from blacks for dramatic redistribution of land, all contribute to the potentially explosive situation. This paper first describes land reform in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Then it turns to Africa, where the main driving force behind land reform initiatives was the need to modernize traditional land patterns and to redistribute land more equally. Four models of land reform are identified in Africa: collectivization (Tanzania and Ethiopia), State ownership and leasehold (Zambia and Zimbabwe), modernizing indigenous land tenure (Botswana), and private ownership (Kenya). The model that has proved to be the most durable and efficient for agricultural production is that of individual private ownership. The sooner all South Africans come to terms with this, the better. Ref.