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This kind of cooperation could assist in establishing linkages relating to land reform and other development initiatives. Currently, local municipalities do not seem to have an interest in land redistribution and the result is that the traditional authorities go it alone. The local municipalities are not involved as authorities in land reform and this makes them less interested in land redistribution. However, the traditional authorities do not have any problem with that, because most of the land reform projects relate to land originally dispossessed from them. In fact, they stand to benefit from the land reform programme more than the municipalities.
Some respondents suggested that the lack of land-related information in the study area could be resolved through government intervention.
Although they did not indicate the type of intervention, this showed that they understood the role that government has to play.
7.7 Impact of Land Reform on Key Community Determinants
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nearby community who were employed on the farms learnt new farming skills and commented that they were also able to apply these new skills in the cultivation of smaller vegetable gardens at home, producing vegetables and subtropical fruit like mangos and bananas. Also mentioned were new skills in livestock breeding, such as how to control ticks and other parasites. Overall, the project had made a significant development impact on the community, indicating to stakeholders that promotion of land redistribution projects, offered substantial subsidiary benefits for community members in extending their level of skills.
In the literature review, it was noted that Brazil’s land reform beneficiaries were afforded skills training in managing tree nurseries and identifying the seed- bearing trees. This serves as a point of similarity in terms of the approach.
7.7.2 Reduced unemployment
Asked whether land reform programmes reduced unemployment in the GLM, 59% of the respondents said that land reform programmes had reduced unemployment, with 41% dissenting. It should be noted that when these programmes were introduced, an important objective was to create new jobs, and the responses to this question indicate a fair measure of success in this regard.
7.7.3 Access to financial assistance
Just over half of the respondents (54%) said that they had not been able to access financial assistance from the financial institutions, while 46% said that they had been able to access financial assistance. These figures present land reform stakeholders with a serious challenge because finance is crucial to the success of any project and failure to prioritise financial assistance will seriously jeopardise land reform outcomes.
While financial assistance is crucial in every project, the actual provision of assistance in a land reform programmes can take the form of either loans or grants, according to the specific needs of the project. Loan criteria can be designed to suit the beneficiaries’ circumstances, and grants to land reform
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beneficiaries from financial institutions such as banks can serve as corporate social investment by the financial institution concerned. The financial assistance received by land reform beneficiaries in this study came from the Land Bank.
When the respondents were asked for suggestions about how to win the support of financial institutions, they mentioned the need for land reform beneficiaries to work hard so as to create a good impression for financial institutions and thereby heighten their possible interest in providing financial backing.
In comparison, the Brazilian government gave the producer groups amongst the land reform communities not only training, but also financial support in certifying their products (Cullen, Alger and Rambaldt, 2005: 752). This approach can also be adopted by the South African government.
7.7.4 Consequences of inadequate financial assistance
With regard to the consequences of a shortfall in financial assistance, 60% of the respondents indicated that this has negatively affected their operations, although a minority (40%) said that lack of financial assistance had not affected the projects at all. The point has already been made that finance is key to any operation and a shortfall could have detrimental effects, as was the case with these land reform projects.
With a majority of beneficiaries reporting that their operations were affected by the lack of financial assistance/support, it is evident that the support was quite minimal. As a consequence, community development will be far from being achieved and poverty reduction will remain a challenge, both in the study area and in other areas that have land reform projects. Lack of financial support, such as was the case in this study, heightens the problem of unemployment. In turn the resulting increase in welfare dependency puts a heavier burden on the taxpayers who fill the government’s coffers.
(a) Contribution of land reform projects to local economic development
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The responses indicate that the land reform projects in this research have contributed positively to the local economy, with a significant 86% of the respondents agreeing that this was the case, as opposed to 14% who disagreed. The benefits to communities that flowed from redistribution would be in relation to job opportunities and the possibility of cultivating produce.
The lesson to be drawn by stakeholders from these projects is that if they are taken seriously – and are supported with the necessary requirements such as infrastructure, tractors and seeds – they can make a strong contribution to the local economy. This should encourage belief in these land reform programmes on the part of conscientious officials who can give proper account for their day- to-day activities.
(b) Land Reform projects serving as good models for community development
A majority of respondents (88%) regarded the land reform projects as good models for developing communities. Notably, only 12% disagreed. The 88%
saw the land reform projects as an opportunity for disadvantaged people to access property and participate in the mainstream economy. This showed that strategic planning on the part of the public officials involved in administration processes had been very good (Haynes, 2003: 113). In whatever decisions they arrived at in their action planning, the objectives were effectively geared towards improvement (Denhardt and Denhardt, 2009: 197).
For most participants, the land reform programmes created employment in the form of job opportunities on the newly acquired farms. This was one area where the South African legislation can be considered to have addressed the inequalities of the past. One particular positive impact of land reform is that it immediately extends the number of individuals who have access to property in contrast to the previous situation where ownership of a farm was vested in just a single person.
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