Land Reform Programme (LRP) Controversies - Improving Rural Livelihoods through the LRP: A Discussion Paper

Abstract

ABSTRACT It would seem some critical issues that had initially sent the country into a spiral of war–racial oppression and segregation was the land issue. These forms of inequalities and inequities manifested so much through land dispossession and for this reason, as some commentators would say, African political leadership traded off these issues for peace which was vital for nation-building. As a consequence, and after more than twenty years of independence in South Africa, those who were oppressed and were dispossessed by the apartheid regime began to voice concerns on the snail pace of the land reform programme. Some opposition political parties also seized the opportunity to galvanize their support base. Therefore, this paper explores how current land debates will unfold economically and socially. Thus, researchers, academics and development economists are sceptical about which approach to adopt to address this vicious circle of poverty and unemployment.