Faculty of Humanities
School of Basic Social Sciences
Department of Sociology
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
A key challenge facing the post-apartheid South African democratic state in meeting the expectations of rural communities dispossessed in the past as a direct result of apartheid is the question of land restitution. Moreover, in a country where high-quality arable land is scare, sustainable land restitution becomes perhaps even more pressing. During the first half of 2008, the Department of Sociology conducted baseline surveys in three communities in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Western-Cape, which have benefited from the restitution process. The purpose of the baseline surveys was to provide a community profile and to establish people’s existing perceptions on credible land restitution and land usage in these beneficiary communities. This data is meant to enable leadership in planning on how the restituted land should be developed. The researchers made a number of findings. All three communities have a youthful population structure, with an indication of a growing number of aged residents, suggesting that sustained expenditure on social services will be required. There is limited commercial farming activity in these communities. Where subsistence farming activity is undertaken, capital and labour are required. This relieves pressure on limited resources by providing produce for consumption. Overall, households are primarily dependent on cash income for subsistence. The level of income is low. Access to social grants is a key source of income for most households in a context where employment opportunities are very limited locally. The majority of the economically active are geared towards seeking employment, but levels of migrant labour remain low and many generate an income through informal economic activity. It is clear that a significant number of households face serious economic hardship that makes surviving in everyday life immensely difficult. Social grants cushion some of the vulnerability imposed by a deteriorating socio-economic context. The pressures of impoverishment and a high level of unemployment influence individuals’ expectations around how the land returned to the community should be used. Participation by members of the community in the process of land restitution has been extremely poor so far. Community involvement in this regard is not being helped by divisive tensions that have developed. Expectations for a better life are high and the government retains a degree of goodwill. Failure to address growing needs holds the possibility that frustrations may be vented
Contact person: Prof JI Grobbelaar.
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