Traditional authorities and land reform in South Africa: Lessons from KwaZulu Natal

Abstract

This article considers the question of land demand and land reform in relation to traditional authorities in KwaZulu Natal. The article has three sections. The first section analyses the current status and position of traditional leaders in the province. This provides a background for the second section, which appraises the attitudes of traditional leaders and their councils to the status quo and to future land reform and land management. The attitudes and opinions appraised emerged in workshops and in‐depth interviews conducted with traditional leaders between August 1994 and January 1995 in the two district study areas selected as provincial research sites for the Land Reform Research Project. These districts are the Estcourt‐Weenen area (also the site of the province's Land Reform Pilot Project) and the Mhlatuze catchment. In Estcourt‐Weenen, a central issue is the relationship of the traditional authorities to the community trusts which have been established to acquire and administer new land. In the ...