Masters Degrees (Philosophy)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Philosophy) by Author "Channing, Janet"
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- ItemDistrict development forums? : towards an alternative to current land reform policy in South Africa(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000-04) Channing, Janet; Hattingh, J. P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Muden is a poor, rural hamlet in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The sub district of Muden forms part of the Presidential Lead Pilot Land Reform Redistribution Project within KwaZulu Natal. This study analyses the negative impact of the current land reform programme on this rural environment. The research indicates a situation of severe poverty, high dependency, a lack of social infrastructure and a need for strong participatory government at local level. It also shows how existing land reform policies and current development practises are inappropriate within their current context. Proposals are formulated about a possible strategy that can be used to move beyond these problems. This study follows a systematic approach in which the reader is first shown what the facts about land reform within Muden, KwaZulu Natal are, and secondly what challenges are induced by these facts. In each chapter the perspectives are altered to add depth and to illustrate the complexity of the situation. The focus also falls on moments or aspects of crisis and how the different stakeholders have actually responded to these. From a normative perspective, guidelines are identified in a reasoned manner from the discussion in each chapter that help identify what could be done in order to overcome the crisis of development and land reform in Muden. The first chapter introduces the reader to Muden, KwaZulu Natal, through a brief history of the district from a land reform perspective. The reader is given an understanding of the current situation prevailing in the Muden Valley through an explanation of the origins of the conflict over land and other natural resources. In the second chapter the social fabric of Muden is described, considering the perceived ethical dilemma between development and environmental management within the context of land reform. A need for an integrated management strategy emerges. In the third chapter the social lens is exchanged for an environmental perspective, discussing the concept of sustainability in terms of the natural environment. Through a discussion about the quality of life of the people of Muden, both pre and post land reform, Chapter 4 brings together the social and biophysical arguments and makes a case for sustainable development. Against the background of this overview of the current situation of Muden, Chapter 5 is used for a rigorous scrutiny of the current approach to land reform/rural development. In this chapter the critical points of intervention are identified. These are points where decisions have impacted negatively upon the land reform project in the respective stages of project planning and project implementation and how these have contributed to the current crisis within Muden. The final chapter formulates a (hopefully) persuasive proposal towards the establishment of District Development Forums as an alternative approach to the current/conventional approach to land reform /rural development in Muden, KwaZulu Natal. I propose that these forums may form a practical institutional framework which have the potential to move us beyond the present quandaries o f the current land reform/rural development experience.