The Politics Of Transferring And Managing Land In The ‘New’ South Africa

Abstract

This chapter looks at governance issues with regard to land; the role of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) as a broker mediating between a powerful government department and a landless community; the impact of market forces on the question of land redistribution in South Africa; and, the images about the rural population in the Eastern Cape that may cloud our understanding. It focuses on the politics of transferring land in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In order to explore the governance issues involved in the context of such a land transfer, the chapter examines the changing relationship between a land sector NGO, called the Monti Rural Association (MRA), the Provincial Department of Land Affairs (DLA) and members of a landless community in Gasela. It also aids us to identify more general trends in the changing relationship between civil society, the state and the market in a transforming South Africa. Keywords: Eastern Cape Province; Gasela community; land sector non-governmental organisation (NGO); land transfer; Monti Rural Association (MRA); non-governmental organisation (NGO); Provincial Department of Land Affairs (DLA); South Africa