CHAPTER FOUR: EXAMINING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA
5.5 PROFILE OF MKHAMBATHINI LOCAL MUNICIPALITY
180 Figure 1: Map of Umgungundlovu District Municipality
Source: mapcarta.com/29040722 (accessed: 2021/12/13).
181 leader of IFP, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi saw the demoractic elections as a threat to the power of traditional authority, IFP and the KwaZulu Government which he headed. Thus the IFP threatened to boycott and disrupt elections in KwaZulu-Natal. The establishment of the Ingonyama Trust formed the basis for the IFP’s participation in the democratic elections of 1994. In addition, the Ingonyama Trust ensured that the Zulu King and Amakhosi (Chiefs) retained power through their control of the land. To this end, Lynd (2021:30) states that, “By giving the King and the amakhosi control over a resource crucial to the lives of ordinary zulu people, the Trust ensured that traditional authories would wield real power, no matter the outcome of the election”. In terms of the Act, all rural land in the province of KwaZulu-Natal is held in a trust, the Ingonyama Trust, with the Zulu King as the sole trustee (Ncapayi, 2021:110). Section 2A (2) of the Act (Act No. 3KZ of 1994) states that the Ingonyama Trust Board:
“Shall administer the affairs of the Trust and the trust land and without detracting from the generality of the foregoing the Board may decide on and implement any encumbrance, pledge, lease, alienation or other disposal of any trust land, or of any interest or real right in such land”.
Ncapayi (2021:114) argues that in essence, rural people in the province of KwaZulu-Natal actually “…lease the land from the Ingonyama Trust for a fee”. To this end, Ncapayi (2021:115) expresses a critical view that the Ingonyama Trust is used as an instrument by the Zulu King and his Chiefs to “strip the rural residents of their land rights”. This indicates that although the rural residents of KwaZulu-Natal may have access to land, they do not have a secure tenure of the pieces of land that they occupy.
Mkhambathini Local Municipality covers an area of approximately 917 square kilo-meters, with a population estimated at 63 142 people (IDP 2018/2019:47). There are approximately 14 964 households in Mkhambathini, and the majority of the population resides in the four traditional authority areas which are defined as rural. The majority of the population are women. For example, “…in 2011, females out-numbered their male counterparts by 4%” (IDP 2018/2019:48). The majority of women reside in the wards that are predominantly rural than men. According to the IDP (2018/2019) document, 51% of the population of Mkhambathini consists of the working age group of between 20 and 60 years, and yet unemployment in the area stands at 12%.
182 The conceptualisation of the term rural in Chapter Two of this study is that the term specifically describes areas that fall outside of geographical areas classified as urban or city centres. It is also revealed that rural areas are isolated with limited to no access to adequate resources and infrastructure such as roads, electricity and telecommunication and lacking quality service provision in sectors such as education, health, water and sanitation. In addition, Pellekaan and Hartnett (1996) note that, rural areas are characterised by lack of economic opportunities, high unemployment rates and poverty that are a result of many challenges. A key characterisation of rural areas is their settlement patterns and dense populations, which take the form of small villages that can be found scattered on tribal or communal land and on commercial farms with one or two small towns. Finally, rural people generally live a simple life style and rely on subsistent farming for their livelihood. Below is a map of Mkhambathini Local Municipality.
Figure 2: Map of Mkhambathini Local Municipality
183 Source: mapcarta.com/29040722 (accessed: 2021/12/13).
Mkhambathini Local Municipality fits the profile of traditional rural areas in South Africa which, according to Mahlati (2011), are characterised by beautiful countryside views and valuable natural resources that form the basis for tourism. Thus, Mkhambathini Local Municipality has divided its tourism sector into three categories and these are: eco-tourism, agro-tourism, and adventure tourism.37
Eco-tourism: eco-tourism seeks to exploit the beautiful views of the table mountain and Umngeni Valley and the private game ranches and wildlife trails which include Tala Valley Game Ranch, Killarney Game Ranch, the Lion Park and Zoo.38
Agro-tourism: this category focuses on the large commercial farms that form the backbone of the local economy. The Sakabula circuit comprises various routes that link the municipality to the nearby commercial farms such as Thornville, Baynesfield, Richmond and Byrne Valley.39 Adventure tourism: this part is linked to Mkhambathini Local Municipality’s adventure areas that include canoeing events in Nagle dame, mountain bike racing, sky-diving, water-skiing and hiking trails.40
The three categories of tourism reflect the beauty of the countryside and diverse natural resources which are found in the Mkhambathini Local Municipality. This indicates that the area has the potential to develop the tourism industry for the benefit of the rural poor. However, there is little participation of the rural people in the tourism industry in Mkhambathini Local Municipality. The sector’s potential to contribute towards rural development has not been fully utilised as it remains too closed up and offers little opportunities to the rural people who remain confined in traditional rural villages. Participant B commented that, the majority of the rural people are unable to participate in the tourism industry because they lack the resources to do so. As a result, people from outside the municipality who visit places of attraction such as the Lion Park and Zoo, and participate in sporting activities that include canoeing in the Nagle dame, skydiving and water-skiing. These activities are inaccessible to the majority of rural
37 Mkhambathini Municipality for community: Integrated Development Plan
2018/2019.http://www mkhambathini.gov.za/sites/defaults/files/mkhambathini IDP-2018-2019.pdf.
38 Ibid.., p. 22.
39 Ibid.., p. 22.
40 Ibid.., p. 22.
184 people in Mkhambathini Local Municipality, except for a few who are employed in the tourism sector.
Another key characteristic that qualifies Mkhambathini Local Municipality as a rural area is its classification as a category B municipality in terms of Section 155 (1b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. All rural municipalities in post-apartheid South Africa fall under category B municipalities and are largely found in the former homeland regions. Mkhambathini Local Municipality is found in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, which is a former homeland of Kwa-Zulu. For easy analysis, Stats SA (2016) divided category B municipalities into four groups (B1, B2, B3, and B4). B1 constitutes all municipalities under category B that are referred to as secondary cities. B2 consists of municipalities under category B that have an urban core with a large urban population. B3 consists of municipalities with a relatively small population that is urban based in one or two small towns. Commercial farming forms the backbone of local economies of these municipalities. The three groups of municipalities under category B municipalities lack some of the characteristics that define them as rural areas.
Instead, it is B4 municipalities that exhibit characteristics that identify with Mkhambathini Local Municipality as rural. According to Stats SA (2016), B4 municipalities are characterised by at least one or two small towns in their area. They consist of small villages that are scattered on communal land that is administered by traditional authorities. Some of the villages under B4 municipalities are found on commercial farms. A significant feature of these municipalities is that they are largely located in the former homeland regions. In the Mkhambathini Local Municipality, it has been established that, the majority of the population reside in villages under Traditional Authority. This indicates that traditional leaders exercise power and influence over rural populations.
An analysis of the seven wards that constitute Mkhambathini Local Municipality indicates that the municipality falls under category B4 municipalities. For example, wards 1, 2, 5 and 7 fall under Traditional Authority areas that are underdeveloped and under resourced. The majority of the population of Mkhambathini Local Municipality resides in areas under Traditional Authority, which are generally poor. All the participants in the individual interviews (Participants: A, B, C, D, E, F and G) described the municipality as rural and poor. When they were asked to elaborate why they describe the municipality as poor they mentioned lack of development which is characterised by poor road infrastructure, high levels of unemployment, poor access to adequate shelter because many poor people cannot afford to build and maintain
185 proper houses, inadequate access to water and electricity. It was mentioned that some of the rural people who reside in traditional authority areas still depend on candles, paraffin and firewood for energy. Some of the respondents identified illiteracy as a major problem that slows down progress in rural areas. Thus, participant (C) also mentioned that various rural people are reluctant to participate and express themselves confidently in public meetings because they are illiterate. Some participants raised some concerns about the poor conditions of schools and lack of library facilities which does not promote the culture of teaching and learning in rural areas.
Participant (G) stated that in his ward there are households that still use pit latrines or no system at all because they are poor.
The conditions in wards 3, 4 and 6 are quite opposite to those evident in wards that fall under traditional authority areas. These wards (i.e. 3, 4 and 6) are well developed and well resourced.
They constitute the productive sector of the municipality. For example wards 3 and 6 are predominately the farming area with few settlements.41 Ward 3 covers the Lion Park and has witnessed the development of high class homes that are set to transform the area into an affluent suburb in the near future. Ward 4 comprises Camperdown which is the administrative centre of the municipality, and Eston, Manderston, Ntimbankulu and Tala Valley settlements that all constitute the urban core of the municipality. These settlements are also surrounded by large commercial farms.
The profile of Mkhambathini Local Municipality is congruent with the description of rural areas in the context of South Africa. It is noteworthy that the majority of the people reside in traditional authority areas that are described as poor because they are underdeveloped and under resourced. It is imperative to examine some of the factors that respondents used to describe Mkhambathini Local Municipality as rural and poor. The participants identified factors that include unemployment, poor road infrastructure, lack of decent shelter, electricity, water, illiteracy and lack of economic opportunities. That these factors were mentioned repeatedly by different participants indicates that the participants view them as essential to understand rural poverty in Mkhambathini Local Municipality.
41 The few settlements in wards 3 and 6 include Umlaas Road, Mid-Illovo, Milford and Avondale. These settlements are actually on commercial farms which are privately owned and the people who reside in these settlements are farm workers.
186 5.6 RESEARCH METHODS
Research methods are instruments used to execute a given research (Struwig and Stead, 2013:55). They explain the sampling method and why a certain number of participants were chosen for the study. Bertram and Christiansen (2014:13) explain that, collected data is classified and analysed to answer a set research question. The current study used a literature study and a case study that draws on a questionnaire with open ended questions administered in person by the researcher during in-depth individual interviews, a semi-structured interview schedule administered by the researcher during group interviews with ward committees, and direct observations of public meetings and war room sessions. These data collection methods are explained shortly in the subsequent sections. Finally, a sampling strategy is a key component that influences any given research methods used, as such the one influencing this research is presented before sections outlining the data collection and analysis methods. A list of key informants for this current study and some summarised personal information is provided in the table below.
Table 7: Key Informants and their Personal Information
Key Informant Summarised Personal Information Data Collection Strategy
Participant A The participant is a 46 years oldman who is serving a second term as ward councillor. He is married. The participant has a secondary school qualification (Standard 8) and is an ANC member.
-Individual Interview
Participant B The participant is a 31 years old man who is not yet married. He is serving his first term as ward councillor. The participant has a grade 12 qualification and is a member of the ANC.
-Individual Interview
Participant C The participant is a 45 years old woman. She is a teacher by profession and holds an Honours Degree in education. She is serving her first term as ward councillor and an ANC member.
-Individual Interview
Participant D The participant is a 54 years old man. He is serving a third term as ward councillor. He has a
-Individual Interview
187
Key Informant Summarised Personal Information Data Collection Strategy
secondary school qualification (Standard 8), and is a member of the ANC.
Participant E The participant is a 42 years old man. He is married. He is a staunch supporter and member of the ANC. He has a secondary school qualification (grade 12).
-Individual Interview
Participant F The participant is a 56 years old man. He has been a ward councillor since year 2000. He is a member and supporter of the ANC. He has a secondary school qualification (standard 8).
-Individual Interview
Participant G The participation is a 35 years old man. He has a secondary school qualification (grade 12). He is an ANC member and is serving his first term as a ward councillor.
-Individual Interview