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The Southern African Regional Poverty and Development Network (SARPN)
hosted a two-day conference on land reform and poverty alleviation
on the 4th and 5th of June, 2001 at the Human Sciences Research Council
(HSRC) in Pretoria, South Africa.
The central intention of the conference was to establish a set
of policy recommendations and guidelines derived from regional perspectives
of land reform policy within the context of pro-poor poverty
alleviation.
Land reform has the potential to make a direct impact on poverty
through targeted resource transfers, particularly in the rural areas.
It is viewed as an instrument for redressing the inequities in access
to economic opportunities and resources. Indeed, land reform literature
is saturated with empirical arguments arguing the case for land
reform. These arguments relate to the economic benefits derived
from tenure security; the link between equality in the distribution
of assets and positive economic growth; the advantages of smallholder
agriculture from an efficiency standpoint; and the desirability
of transferring land to more efficient users through land sales
and rental markets. This conference intended to explore these arguments
according to southern African country experiences of land reform
and poverty alleviation.
The first day consisted of a series of presentations outlining
land reform in a regional perspective. The initial session was
entitled Land Reform in a Regional Context: Country
Experiences.
A general overview of the status of land reform in the region was
presented followed by a series of country studies, which outlined
experiences of seven Southern African Development Community (SADC)
countries, namely Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi,
South Africa and Mozambique. This took the form of a retrospective
and prospective view of land reform from the point of view of
prospects for enhanced poverty alleviation. Each speaker presented
a paper that attempted to answer the following questions:
- What has been the view of land reform and poverty alleviation
in the past twenty years? (at the time of the transition in some
countries?) (i.e. what were the policy choices, objectives, goals?).
- What has been learned about each country's land reform and its
connection to poverty alleviation programmes? (Gender implications?)
- What are the prospects for further land reform in each country?
- What might national governments, SADC, civil society and international
development agencies do to enhance or underpin land reform and
poverty alleviation in the region? (i.e. what are the strategic
policy options?).
The second session of the day, entitled Land Reform
in a Regional Context: Overarching Themes, entailed an interactive
discussion facilitated by a leading southern African land reform practitioner.
The intention was to map out the major themes affecting land reform
in the region in order to inform policy directions from civil society,
government, international development agencies and the private sector.
The second day consisted of a series of roundtable discussions
exploring themes in greater depth through micro-studies of land
reform experiences in the region. Each roundtable incorporated two
or three short papers that explored a common theme followed by an
informed discussion. The day of roundtables was concluded through
a final workshop, which brought the dominant themes of the roundtables
together along with the proceeding day's deliberations.
Therefore the discussions were structured as follows:
Day One: Monday 4th June
| 0845 |
TEA/COFFEE |
|
| 0930 |
REGISTRATION |
|
| 1000 |
OPENING
ROOM 150
| Richard Humphries
(SARPN) |
| 1010 |
FRAMEWORK |
Scott Drimie (HSRC) |
|
FIRST SESSION: LAND REFORM IN A REGIONAL
CONTEXT |
| 1015 |
First
Speaker: |
Regional
Overview
Martin Adams, DfID Land Reform Co-ordinator |
| 1035 |
Open
Discussion |
Chaired by Sue
Mbaya, Land Tenure and Land Policy Consultant, Zimbabwe |
| 1100 |
TEA/COFFEE |
|
| 1115 |
Country
Studies |
Chaired by Ben
Cousins, Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) |
| 1125 |
Namibia Study |
Wolfgang Werner,
Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) |
| 1145 |
Zimbabwe
Study |
Sue Mbaya, Land
Tenure and Land Policy Consultant, Zimbabwe |
| 1205 |
Lesotho
Study |
Qubela Selebalo,
Project Co-ordinator - Land Management and Administration, Lesotho |
| 1225 |
Swaziland
Study |
Alfred Mndzebele,
Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO) |
| 1300 |
LUNCH |
|
| 1400 |
Mozambique
Study |
Amade Suca, Associação
Rural de Ajuda Mutua (ORAM) |
| 1420 |
South
Africa Study
(including
Appendix) |
Sipho Sibanda,
Department of Land Affairs, (DLA) |
| 1440 |
Malawi
Study
(including
Appendix) |
Fredrick Kandodo,
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) |
| 1500 |
TEA/COFFEE |
|
| 1515 |
SECOND
SESSION: OVERARCHING THEMES |
| |
Workshop
and mapping exercise led by Ben Cousins and Sue Mbaya. Four
breakaway rooms were arranged to facilitate the interactive
and participative workshops. Each session engaged with two of
the country studies with the intention of drawing out issues
around policy processes, political dynamics, the role of civil
society, state capacity and complementary programmes. |
| |
| VENUE |
COUNTRY
STUDIES |
| FORUM
A: |
Namibia
and Zimbabwe |
| FORUM
B: |
Malawi
and Mozambique |
| FORUM
C: |
Lesotho
and Swaziland |
| ROOM
150: |
South
Africa |
|
| 1615 |
Plenary
and report back |
Ben Cousins |
| 1730 |
Close |
Scott Drimie |
DAY TWO: Tuesday
5th June
FIRST SESSION:
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
| 0845 |
TEA/COFFEE |
|
| 0900 |
Welcome
and Introduction (ROOM 150) |
Scott Drimie |
| |
Summary
of 1st Day and Linkages to 2nd Day |
Ben Cousins |
| 0930 |
Roundtable
Discussions(1.5 hours each) |
| |
Stream
One: The Impact of Aids on Land Reform and Rural Livelihoods
(FORUM A)
Chair: Neil Marsland (Regional
Food Security Advisor: SADC region) Zamokuhle Zwane (Treatment
Action Campaign) “Impact
of HIV/Aids on the Land Reform Programme, South Africa”
Dan Mullins (Regional HIV/Aids Co-ordinator, Oxfam)
“Land
Reform, Poverty Reduction and HIV/AIDS”
Stream Two: Farm Workers and Land Reform
in Southern Africa (FORUM B)
Chair: Henry Machina (Land Alliance of Zambia)
Godfrey Magaramombe (Farm Workers Community Trust of Zimbabwe)
“
Rural Poverty: Commercial Farm Workers and Land Reform in Zimbabwe”
Ruth Hall, Karin Kleinbooi and Ndodomzi Mvambo (Centre for
Rural Legal Studies) “What
land reform has meant and could mean to farm workers in South
Africa”
|
| 1100 |
TEA/COFFEE |
| 1115 |
Stream
Three: Issues around Tenure and Food Security in the Region
FORUM A) |
| |
Chair: Meshack Khosa (HSRC)
Durkje Gilfillan, (Legal Resources Centre)
“Poverty
alleviation, economic advancement and the need for tenure
reform in rural areas”
Peter Bechtel (Land Law Adviser - Cabo Delgado)
“Land
Law and Agricultural Development in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
and in Swaziland”
Sam Bonti-Ankomah (NIEP)
“Addressing
Food Insecurity in South Africa”
Stream Four: Establishing Small-Scale
Production on Land Reform Farms in Southern Africa: The Case
of KwaZulu-Natal(FORUM B)
Chair: Sihle Mkhize (Association for Rural Advancement)
Bigman Maloa (Canegrowers)
“Sugar
Cane: A Case as a Development Crop in RSA”
Duncan Stewart (KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Development Forum)
“Land-rental reform in communal areas”
Nigel Taylor and Rob Ciarns (OXFAM)
“May
farming make a contribution to poverty alleviation in a “deep”
rural area in South Africa? — Lessons from Oxfam GB's
Sustainable Livelihood Programme in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal”
Stream Five: Citizenship, Development
and Land Reform(FORUM C)
Chair: Mike De Klerk (HSRC)
Carolien Samson and Dave Husy (Land Bank)
“South
Africa and the Social Discount Product”
Andile Mngxitama (National Land Committee)
“Farm
Workers, Citizenship and Land”
|
| 1245 |
Lunch |
| 1330 |
SECOND
SESSION: KEY ISUES |
|
A final
session was conducted by Ben Cousins to explore key issues emerging
from the roundtables. The chairs of the roundtables fed into the
discussion at lunchtime and final comments from participants were
taken at the plenary. A particular emphasis was placed on a post-conference
document and synergistic research opportunities. |
1500 |
Close
and Way Forward |
Scott Drimie |
|
|
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