The socio-economic impact of land redistribution on the beneficiaries in the Greater Kokstad Municipality of South Africa

Abstract

PurposeThe Government of South Africa, in 1997, embarked on the land redistribution programme in some communities to address the land ownership injustices suffered by indigenous during the apartheid regime. The objective of this study is to assess the socio-economic experiences of communities that have benefitted from the government's land redistribution programme in the Greater Kokstad Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a qualitative research methodology. The population of interest comprised two communities (Franklin and Makhoba) located within the Greater Kokstad Municipality. A purposefully selected sampling technique was used to select the relevant land beneficiaries to form part of the study's sample. An interview guide made up of both closed-ended and open-ended questions was used to solicit information from the participants.FindingsThe findings revealed that the key social-economic variables, such as the living standards of the beneficiaries, have not yet experienced much improvement. Moreover, it became evident that some socio-economic aspects such as food security, low-cost housing, basic services, wealth (land), transport, infrastructure and training had improved somewhat; although other similar aspects such as total household incomes, unemployment, general community safety and corruption had not improved.Practical implicationsIt can, therefore, be concluded that all socio-economic aspects of beneficiaries' lives had not improved/changed entirely; thus, the experiences of the land redistribution beneficiaries of the Greater Kokstad Municipality represent a mixed bag of major failures and minor successes. The study recommends some policy improvement on the land redistribution programme such as an increase in the combined budgets of the land redistribution and tenure reform programmes and the revision of the proceeds paid to landowners from market value to production value, which if adopted by the government, will help address the deficiencies in socio-economic benefit of the programme to the beneficiaries in the communities.Originality/valueThe findings give an insight into the effectiveness of the government's land redistribution programme to the beneficiaries' socio-economic lives and areas where the government needs to improve to make the project a success. The paper also adds to the literature in terms of knowledge and may serve as a reference for future studies in this area.