On the one hand, an evaluation of the natural and climatological resource base shows a considerable agro-economic potential. This is apparently contrary to the fact that only one of the springs in the 14 residential areas is protected with consequent pollution by small livestock. Thus a survey in the South West found that although access to water was "generally good" in villages with windmills, they were not working in ~ of the villages visited and in one case had been out of action for 7 years.
Therefore, it would be reasonable to generalize May's finding that "the majority of the sample did not have access to an adequate and adequate water supply". Population, production and rural poverty in the Transkei 95% of the Transkei's estimated 3.2 million people live in 'rural areas. Two-thirds of the male workforce is permanently absent and works as a migrant worker in the major urban areas of South Africa.
An adequate account would require an examination of the process by which pastoral practitioners were transformed into wage-dependent households. This section examines the consequences of the drought both at a macro-regional level and based on a study of a rural village. However, because the majority of the population lives outside the reach of municipal water supplies, it is necessary to consider the impact of water shortages on rural communities.
The least affected areas seem to be the districts facing the mountains and the coastal areas of the northeast.
TRANSKEI
LAND PRESSURE
DROUGHT RELIEF PROGRAMME IN TRANSKEI
The two main drought-fighting efforts (in Transkei) were the state's efforts based on a 6.7 million yuan grant from the RSA treasury, and Operation Joseph of the Transkei Council of Churches. In each case, we outline the basic organization and scope of the program before proceeding with a preliminary assessment. The program is under the control of the Civil Protection Unit with administrative responsibility held by the Transkei Ministry of Social Affairs.
A drought relief co-ordinator is appointed for each of the 28 judicial districts in the Transkei and is responsible for monitoring water, livestock and health conditions and selecting 'needful' families in consultation with local chiefs. There are three sub-programs, each of which received about one third of the budget of Rm 6.7:. The Guideline Assistance Program attempted to provide water to the most affected areas using tankers9 provided by the Department of Agriculture and the South African Defense Force.
The largest non-government program was 'Operation Joseph' run by the Transkei Council of Churches. The program was organized through member churches, which were asked to identify 30 needy families who would receive assistance for the duration of the program. It is still too early to draw firm conclusions about the impact of the drought relief programs on rural areas, as the drought is still not over and information is scarce - especially about the official program.
While this has the advantage of involving local people who should be familiar with the conditions, it leads to the danger of nepotism and the temptation to add drought relief to rural social control. Although this has the advantage of minimizing expensive transport infrastructure (7\if not linked to a system of rural price controls, the most likely consequence is price inflation and the distribution of relief to shopkeepers through increased profits (8) iii) Social Impact. , The stock feed program is perhaps the most controversial here. Furthermore, when coupled with the necessity of providing one's own transportation, it is clear that such a program will only benefit the wealthier rural areas. iv) Ideological effects.
While it would be futile to deny that drought relief programs benefit rural populations, they improve rather than change the fundamental conditions of rural poverty. Although the success of Operations Joseph (in Transkei) and Hunger (South Africa) has shown that the more affluent parts of the population can be persuaded to donate, there is a danger that they will attribute too much to the drought. But while drought relief programs can be important in helping populations, they do little to solve the fundamental problems of rural poverty and make communities more resilient to drought.
NATURE AND SOCIAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN TRANSKEI
Depending on the type of health problem, necessary improvements can be made in the water supply system. The average annual availability of water from the Transkeis to the major rivers and a number of smaller rivers is estimated at 10755 Mm3. Only 7.01% of the 7531 Mm3 of this that is usable is currently being consumed. Rainfall is considered sufficient for most agricultural purposes and 85% of the average annual rainfall can be expected to fall on a seven to ten year cycle.
34; Water that falls on the surface of the earth can flow directly into streams to be drained through rivers and taken back to the sea, but the most important way for human nutrition is that of penetration into the soil. The long-term availability of water depends crucially on the absorptive capacity of the soil. 34; Water conservation, however, has been less effective because virtually all of the Transkei's small watercourses have collapsed and most of the grasslands are overgrown.
Typical symptoms of this condition are rampant erosion, deterioration of water supplies, and the inability of the land to support or feed the rural population". Elements of such a strategy may include small-scale irrigation projects, afforestation to provide windbreaks, flood diversion to improve grazing and spring protection to improve quality water. Since health is influenced by many environmental, social and cultural factors, it would be speculative to predict what the elimination of possible infections from an "official" water source would mean for people. general health of the community".
One of the main reasons for this pessimism, and their explanation for poor health performance in villages with improved water supply, is that a number of intervening factors, particularly population water use patterns, may reduce the impact of water improvement. In the Transkei, for example, it has been noted that while resource protection, windmills and drilling increase water availability and quality: 34; a disturbing feature of the taps is that children drink directly from them, and as tuberculosis is endemic in the Transkei, this must be a point of transmission of this and other diseases."
If one accepts the current division of South Africa under the Special Development regime, then it is clear that the path lies along that proposed by the Tomlinson Commission - the division of the homelands into agricultural communities living on the land and full-time workers in the cities . 34; It concluded that no matter how economically desirable the changes might be, at present the social security of the people living in the trisal areas was so bound up with the traditional system of land tenure that any attempt at land reform at this stage would are more likely to cause hardship and suffering than to alleviate. The basic argument of this paper is that while considerable steps can be taken to improve the condition of the villagers in the homeland, through schemes such as those for improving water resources, up to
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
But talking lightly about reform without confronting the structural inequality it expresses runs the serious risk of making people worse off than they are now. It seems likely that once some development has taken place, the desired land tenure reforms can be achieved at much lower social cost." Until inflow controls are removed and some pressure is removed from the land, the structural poverty of the rural population will continue.
Third, because the drought damaged resources in an area where they were already scarce, it increased the level of social conflict. This led to confiscations, fines, raids and the introduction of new laws allowing the prosecution of owners of cattle found in a 'farming scheme'. Historical and ethnic differences overlay the struggle for survival and allow the countryside to be easily divided unless people are more aware of the macro processes they are subject to.
Finally, the accumulation of structural poverty in the rural areas of the Transkei gives rise to new crises (g) and new forms of rural conflict. Southey (1983) claims that a person working the mines could earn more in three weeks than the average annual gross maize yield per acre. family. It has been estimated that the effort to keep a unit of cattle alive on survival rations for six months is R500 for non-beef and dairy cattle and R700 for the latter.
Not all deaths can be attributed to the drought, as they include deaths from other causes and slaughter. Although there is some disagreement about take-off rates with estimates ranging from 4% to 12%, Southey argues convincingly that the rate is around 7%. This should be compared with the amount of Rm 36.8 originally promoted by the Transkei government. Rm 6.7 was the total amount available to assist both the population and the peasants, and it compares very unfavorably with the amounts allocated to the white peasants.
In contrast, some drought relief coordinators believed that retailers were reluctant to raise prices during the drought for fear of community reprisals. These articles constitute the preliminary findings of the Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa, and were prepared for presentation at a conference at the University of Cape Town from 13 to 19 April 1984. The Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa and Development in Southern Africa started in April 1982 and is expected to last until June 1985.
SALDRU
