Connecting communities and business: Public-private partnerships as the panacea for land reform in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Scattered among large-scale citrus orchards and game farms in Limpopo Province lie the densely populated former homelands of Venda, Gazankulu, and Lebowa. With few possibilities for development in these barren areas, many communities have lodged claims for the restitution of land from which they were evicted under apartheid. Limpopo Province has a relatively high number of land claims compared to other provinces but has been slow in responding to them (Ramutsindela 2007). Influenced by reports documenting the “failure” of restitution projects elsewhere in South Africa (Hall 2004; Lahiff 2008), the provincial authorities feared that restitution would damage the province’s economy, which is largely based on export-oriented agriculture and tourism.