Land Governance and Land Reform in Southern Africa

Abstract

Land governance and reform in Southern Africa is premised on a shared historical legacy of colonialism, inequality, tenure diversity and fragmentation. The persistence of tenure inequity, decades after independence and despite significant and repeated investments in land reform initiatives, raises questions regarding these interventions. More recently, investigations into land reform efforts have shifted from more legal technical/technical approaches to embracing land governance perspectives, including the aspects of governance, social legitimacy and the democratic nature of these land reform processes. Developing an assessment framework for democratic land governance enabled assessment of land reforms according to land governance principles. It was found that the aspects of democratic land governance are generally lacking and that reforms did not always prioritise the inclusion of the rural and urban poor. Public participation and adherence to the rule of law are critical to the success of land reforms, even when processes are considered to be slow and bureaucratic. Successful land reforms are predicated upon the democratic interaction of the state and the citizen; and land reform processes, therefore, become inherently part of the broader strategic challenge of democratising the state and society.