Now that we have the land: analysing the experiences of land reform beneficiaries in the Makana Municipal District of the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Msuthu, Simela Thuleka
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Land reform , Sustainable development , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land settlement -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Restitution -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167551 , vital:41491
- Description: The “land question” in South Africa goes back more than a century to the 1913 Natives Land Act which facilitated the dispossession of African people from fertile land to arid homelands and congested townships. This mass dispossession of Africans from their land was accompanied by an array of legislation aimed at restricting their upward mobility, thus laying the foundations of structural inequality in South Africa. The advent of democracy in 1994 brought about a number of legislative reforms aimed at addressing the injustices that were imposed by the colonial and apartheid governments on the African people. At the forefront of these legislative efforts was the restoration of land to the original inhabitants of the country. Research indicates that, since 1994, the South African government has issued out land to different individuals and communities around the country in an attempt to address structural unemployment and poverty that plague the country. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Theoretical framework, this study sought to examine the experiences of land reform beneficiaries in the Makana Municipal district of the Eastern Cape, in order to determine the extent to which the transfer of land to landless people has met the governments’ agenda to alleviate poverty and unemployment in the rural regions of South Africa. The findings in this study show that, successful land reform in South Africa is hindered mostly by two factors. Firstly, the inability of land beneficiaries to access quality education, skills training, finances and formal agricultural value chains. Secondly, land beneficiaries are further placed at a disadvantage by the poor quality of public services in their local municipalities and inconsistent post-settlement support from the state. The conclusion made in this study, is that the government has to be cognizant of the aforementioned structural barriers, when designing and rolling out land reform projects throughout the country. Failure to address these glaring structural barriers, will result in the creation of a peasant class of people living on underutilized land.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Msuthu, Simela Thuleka
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Land reform , Sustainable development , Land reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land tenure -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Land settlement -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Restitution -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167551 , vital:41491
- Description: The “land question” in South Africa goes back more than a century to the 1913 Natives Land Act which facilitated the dispossession of African people from fertile land to arid homelands and congested townships. This mass dispossession of Africans from their land was accompanied by an array of legislation aimed at restricting their upward mobility, thus laying the foundations of structural inequality in South Africa. The advent of democracy in 1994 brought about a number of legislative reforms aimed at addressing the injustices that were imposed by the colonial and apartheid governments on the African people. At the forefront of these legislative efforts was the restoration of land to the original inhabitants of the country. Research indicates that, since 1994, the South African government has issued out land to different individuals and communities around the country in an attempt to address structural unemployment and poverty that plague the country. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Theoretical framework, this study sought to examine the experiences of land reform beneficiaries in the Makana Municipal district of the Eastern Cape, in order to determine the extent to which the transfer of land to landless people has met the governments’ agenda to alleviate poverty and unemployment in the rural regions of South Africa. The findings in this study show that, successful land reform in South Africa is hindered mostly by two factors. Firstly, the inability of land beneficiaries to access quality education, skills training, finances and formal agricultural value chains. Secondly, land beneficiaries are further placed at a disadvantage by the poor quality of public services in their local municipalities and inconsistent post-settlement support from the state. The conclusion made in this study, is that the government has to be cognizant of the aforementioned structural barriers, when designing and rolling out land reform projects throughout the country. Failure to address these glaring structural barriers, will result in the creation of a peasant class of people living on underutilized land.
- Full Text:
Toward universal sustainability: strategies and guidelines
- Authors: Robertson, Struan Ross
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sustainability , Sustainable development , Economic development , Social planning
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEcon
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71591 , vital:29922
- Description: This research considers the notion of universal sustainability, which involves the three well-known pillars of sustainable development, namely, economic development, social development, and environmental sustainability. Critical to achieving this unity of purpose in the aligning of economic and social aspirations with the limits of the natural environment is the enhancing of human capability and the development of political institutions capable of representing the interests of all people by leveraging resources responsibly. Universal sustainability differs from the concept of sustainable development in that the emphasis is cast not on merely achieving economic development despite the challenges presented by social and environmental concerns, but on seeking to understand what a better society might look like that integrates outcomes in-line with these three factors. Universal sustainability is about re-thinking the purpose of material progress to realign this with the need for social cohesion and to reposition human values and expectations safely within ecological boundaries. In other words, strategies and guidelines that promote the realisation of universal sustainability would recommend a society that values economic and technological progress with equal measure to social development and environmental sustainability, as well as all the other factors that promote human wellbeing. Consequently, this research also considers the inter-linkages that are found between economic development (i.e. technological advancement) and social (i.e. normative progress) and societal (i.e. long-term institutional differentiation) development with respect to labour markets, the formation of skills, the scope of welfare regimes and hence, the trajectory of the social reproduction of society. The prospects of environmental sustainability, like that of societal development, are found to be influenced by the values that a society holds and the ability of economic and social factors to adapt in response to the environmental challenges that face societies in socially workable ways. This research concerns the great quest for meaning and purpose that humans have undertaken throughout history, and asks how human wellbeing – in its best, most expansive sense, can be improved and how societies can advance and prosper going forward while keeping the avenue of individual self-actualisation open as a possibility in the everyday lives of citizens? In achieving this end, this research looks at what economic development strategies suggest as tenable against these aspirations. Furthermore, this research looks at the experience of advanced democratic societies to better conceive of how material progress, social cohesion via education and welfare, and environmental sustainability can be attained. The selection of these countries ensures understanding for the kind of political arrangements that safeguard human wellbeing and give voice to freedom, material opportunities, and civic responsibilities. Critical to both these assessments is defining the mechanics that underlie the processes that achieve material and moral progress in human societies. The main goal of this research is to recommend strategies and guidelines for developing countries like South Africa that wish to develop and thrive. Therefore, this research presents an assessment framework for understanding both universal sustainability and how to achieve it. This research concludes that mindfulness about the natural environment and the services it supplies, as well as mindfulness about what drives economic development and what supports the conditions for human flourishing, are necessary for universal sustainability strategies and guidelines to work. Indeed, the ideologies that societies subscribe to and the values they hold are important 84 to creating the right conditions for economic tools to work to advance economic development, material improvement, socio-environmental justice, and ultimately for achieving universal sustainability. But central to both economic and environmental futures is an understanding that at the heart of the matter is a concern for apprehending what drives human behaviour and aspiration, and what creates social cohesion.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Robertson, Struan Ross
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Sustainability , Sustainable development , Economic development , Social planning
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEcon
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71591 , vital:29922
- Description: This research considers the notion of universal sustainability, which involves the three well-known pillars of sustainable development, namely, economic development, social development, and environmental sustainability. Critical to achieving this unity of purpose in the aligning of economic and social aspirations with the limits of the natural environment is the enhancing of human capability and the development of political institutions capable of representing the interests of all people by leveraging resources responsibly. Universal sustainability differs from the concept of sustainable development in that the emphasis is cast not on merely achieving economic development despite the challenges presented by social and environmental concerns, but on seeking to understand what a better society might look like that integrates outcomes in-line with these three factors. Universal sustainability is about re-thinking the purpose of material progress to realign this with the need for social cohesion and to reposition human values and expectations safely within ecological boundaries. In other words, strategies and guidelines that promote the realisation of universal sustainability would recommend a society that values economic and technological progress with equal measure to social development and environmental sustainability, as well as all the other factors that promote human wellbeing. Consequently, this research also considers the inter-linkages that are found between economic development (i.e. technological advancement) and social (i.e. normative progress) and societal (i.e. long-term institutional differentiation) development with respect to labour markets, the formation of skills, the scope of welfare regimes and hence, the trajectory of the social reproduction of society. The prospects of environmental sustainability, like that of societal development, are found to be influenced by the values that a society holds and the ability of economic and social factors to adapt in response to the environmental challenges that face societies in socially workable ways. This research concerns the great quest for meaning and purpose that humans have undertaken throughout history, and asks how human wellbeing – in its best, most expansive sense, can be improved and how societies can advance and prosper going forward while keeping the avenue of individual self-actualisation open as a possibility in the everyday lives of citizens? In achieving this end, this research looks at what economic development strategies suggest as tenable against these aspirations. Furthermore, this research looks at the experience of advanced democratic societies to better conceive of how material progress, social cohesion via education and welfare, and environmental sustainability can be attained. The selection of these countries ensures understanding for the kind of political arrangements that safeguard human wellbeing and give voice to freedom, material opportunities, and civic responsibilities. Critical to both these assessments is defining the mechanics that underlie the processes that achieve material and moral progress in human societies. The main goal of this research is to recommend strategies and guidelines for developing countries like South Africa that wish to develop and thrive. Therefore, this research presents an assessment framework for understanding both universal sustainability and how to achieve it. This research concludes that mindfulness about the natural environment and the services it supplies, as well as mindfulness about what drives economic development and what supports the conditions for human flourishing, are necessary for universal sustainability strategies and guidelines to work. Indeed, the ideologies that societies subscribe to and the values they hold are important 84 to creating the right conditions for economic tools to work to advance economic development, material improvement, socio-environmental justice, and ultimately for achieving universal sustainability. But central to both economic and environmental futures is an understanding that at the heart of the matter is a concern for apprehending what drives human behaviour and aspiration, and what creates social cohesion.
- Full Text:
Quantification of water resources uncertainties in two sub-basins of the Limpopo River basin
- Authors: Oosthuizen, Nadia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hydrologic models -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Management , Sustainable development , Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Reservoirs -- Limpopo River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63267 , vital:28388
- Description: The demand for water is rapidly growing, placing more strain on access to the resources and subsequently its management. For sustainable management, there is a need to accurately quantify the available water resources. Unfortunately, the data required for such assessments are frequently far from sufficient in terms of availability and quality, especially in southern Africa. In the absence of historical observed data, models are generally used to describe the different hydrological processes and generate data and information that will inform management and policy decision making. Ideally, any hydrological model should be based on a sound conceptual understanding of the processes in the basin and be backed by quantitative information for the parameterization of the model. Such data is however, often inadequate in many sub-basins necessitating the incorporation of the uncertainty related to the estimation process. Model parameter estimation and input data are significant sources of uncertainty that should be quantified. Also, in southern Africa water use data are unreliable because available databases consist of licensed information and actual use is generally unknown. In this study, the water resources of two sub-basins of the Limpopo River basin – the Mogalakwena in South Africa and the Shashe shared between Botswana and Zimbabwe – are estimated. The study assessed how uncertainties in the Pitman model parameterisation and input water use data affect the estimation of surface water resources of the selected sub-basins. Farm reservoirs and irrigated areas data from various sources were collected and used to run the Pitman model. Results indicate that the total model output uncertainty is higher for the Shashe sub-basin which is more data scarce than the Mogalakwena sub-basin. The study illustrates the importance of including uncertainty in the water resources assessment process to provide baseline data for decision making in resource management and planning. The study reviews existing information sources associated with the quantification of water balance components and gives an update of water resources of the sub-basin. The flows generated by the model at the outlet of the basin were between 22.6 Mm3 and 24.7 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The total predictive uncertainty of the model increased to between 22.2 Mm3 and 25.0 Mm3 when anthropogenic water use data such as small farm and large reservoirs and irrigation were included. The flows generated for Shashe was between 11.7 Mm3 and 14.5 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The predictive uncertainty of the model changed to 11.7 Mm3 and 17.7 Mm3 after the water use uncertainty was added. However, it is expected that the uncertainty could be reduced by using higher resolution remote sensing imagery.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Oosthuizen, Nadia
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hydrologic models -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Limpopo River Watershed , Water-supply -- Management , Sustainable development , Rain and rainfall -- Mathematical models , Runoff -- Mathematical models , Reservoirs -- Limpopo River Watershed
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63267 , vital:28388
- Description: The demand for water is rapidly growing, placing more strain on access to the resources and subsequently its management. For sustainable management, there is a need to accurately quantify the available water resources. Unfortunately, the data required for such assessments are frequently far from sufficient in terms of availability and quality, especially in southern Africa. In the absence of historical observed data, models are generally used to describe the different hydrological processes and generate data and information that will inform management and policy decision making. Ideally, any hydrological model should be based on a sound conceptual understanding of the processes in the basin and be backed by quantitative information for the parameterization of the model. Such data is however, often inadequate in many sub-basins necessitating the incorporation of the uncertainty related to the estimation process. Model parameter estimation and input data are significant sources of uncertainty that should be quantified. Also, in southern Africa water use data are unreliable because available databases consist of licensed information and actual use is generally unknown. In this study, the water resources of two sub-basins of the Limpopo River basin – the Mogalakwena in South Africa and the Shashe shared between Botswana and Zimbabwe – are estimated. The study assessed how uncertainties in the Pitman model parameterisation and input water use data affect the estimation of surface water resources of the selected sub-basins. Farm reservoirs and irrigated areas data from various sources were collected and used to run the Pitman model. Results indicate that the total model output uncertainty is higher for the Shashe sub-basin which is more data scarce than the Mogalakwena sub-basin. The study illustrates the importance of including uncertainty in the water resources assessment process to provide baseline data for decision making in resource management and planning. The study reviews existing information sources associated with the quantification of water balance components and gives an update of water resources of the sub-basin. The flows generated by the model at the outlet of the basin were between 22.6 Mm3 and 24.7 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The total predictive uncertainty of the model increased to between 22.2 Mm3 and 25.0 Mm3 when anthropogenic water use data such as small farm and large reservoirs and irrigation were included. The flows generated for Shashe was between 11.7 Mm3 and 14.5 Mm3 per month when incorporating uncertainty to the main physical runoff generating parameters. The predictive uncertainty of the model changed to 11.7 Mm3 and 17.7 Mm3 after the water use uncertainty was added. However, it is expected that the uncertainty could be reduced by using higher resolution remote sensing imagery.
- Full Text:
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