The youth after land reform in Zimbabwe: exploring the redistributive and social protection outcomes from a transformative social policy perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Focusing on the youth, this paper explores the social policy dimensions of Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform programme (FTLRP) using the transformative social policy (TSP) theoretical framework. It shows that in rural Zimbabwe, the FTLRP has impacted the youth in diverse ways which are only becoming visible now. Using the TSP framework, the paper argues that land reform is a social policy instrument that can be used to transform livelihoods and bring about inclusive development in former settler colonies. It uses empirical evidence gathered in Goromonzi district in Zimbabwe to show that there are discernible redistribution, production and social protection outcomes of the FTLRP. In a context where some Southern African countries are grappling with how best to deal with their “land questions,” the paper argues that there are lessons to be learned from the Zimbabwean experience.