Land tenure in Mhala: Official wisdom ‘locked up’ in tradition and people ‘locked up’ in development∗

This paper has benefited from discussion with Boet Kotzé and assistance received from Yvonne Bodmer. Financial assistance from the CSIR is gratefully acknowledged.

Abstract

One of the main objectives of development in Gazankulu is the economic utilisation of the area's resources. A dominant perception underlying development in the region is that land as a resource is ‘removed from productive use’ because it is ‘locked up’ in the traditional tenure system.

However, what is officially taken to be traditional patterns of land use, actually has very little to do with tradition. Current patterns of land use in rural areas of Gazankulu are directly related to the history of the creation and the development of the national entity. In Mhala it is indeed not a question of ‘land locked up in tradition’ as official wisdom holds, but of people ‘locked up’ in development.

Notes

This paper has benefited from discussion with Boet Kotzé and assistance received from Yvonne Bodmer. Financial assistance from the CSIR is gratefully acknowledged.

Lecturer in Anthropology, Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg.