‘Willing buyer, willing seller’: South Africa's failed experiment in market-led agrarian reform

Contested paradigms of ‘viability’ in redistributive land reform: perspectives from southern Africa

“…Agricultural support programmes for land reform beneficiaries were announced, to be implemented by provincial departments of agriculture, but these have been under-funded, poorly planned and ineffective to date (Lahiff 2008). According to Lahiff (2007bLahiff ( : 1589, 'the official emphasis on commercial 'viability' has increased considerably since the beginning of the land reform programme', and 'the 'commercial' logic of LRAD is now applied to all land reform applicants, regardless of their resources, abilities, or stated objectives'. The key mechanism through which this commercial logic is applied is the business plan, which is usually drawn up by private consultants who have little contact with the intended beneficiaries: (Lahiff 2007b, 158-89).…”

Community Members’ Knowledge, Support and Perceived Benefits of Land Reform in Rural South Africa: The Case of Mtunzini, in the KwaZulu Natal Province

“…Kepe & Cousins (2002) have argued that, poor planning, and lack of government support, most of the land on these purchased group farms remained underutilized. Lahiff (2007) has also argued that most of the good quality land is sold by public auction or private transactions and thus not available to poor land reform beneficiaries. Hall (2007) points that the focus on elite Black farmers limits the impact of land reform for the greater majority of landless people.…”

“…The land problem in South Africa dates to the earliest colonial times, when native lands were expropriated from their rightful owners -often without compensation (Tupy, 2006). While the land reform policy officially aims to reach a range of beneficiaries including women, young people, the unemployed, farm workers and aspirant commercial farmers there has been a discernible shift in policy in favour of the latter group in recent years (Lahiff, 2007). Contemporary development scholars have been advocating the inclusion of people's participation in development projects as they believe the avowed objectives of any project cannot be fully achieved unless people meaningfully participate (Mohammad, 2010:1).…”

More than just a piece of land: Power dynamics in the land discourse within the City of Tshwane

“…The "willing buyer, willing seller" policy of the ANC-led government did not do much in terms of redressing inequalities of the colonial and apartheid past in this area. In his article, "'Willing buyer, willing seller': South Africa's failed experiment in market-led agrarian reform", Edward Lahiff (2007) explores the failures of such a policy in a comprehensive way. Whilst this policy sought to entrench the spirit of the Freedom Charter of 1955, "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white" and the spirit of reconciliation in the rainbow nation of Nelson Mandela, it failed dismally in terms of returning land ownership to its rightful owners.…”