Land tenure in an urban area∗

This paper is based on material collected in Grahamstown at the end of 1985. I am grateful to Michael Whisson and Chris de Wet for reading and commenting on an earlier draft of the paper.

Abstract

The paper considers land tenure in black townships in Grahamstown. The legal and practical difficulties which the township dwellers have in acquiring secure land rights is a reflection of their subordinate political status. All decisions about where blacks live and the laws and regulations under which they have operated since the establishment of Grahamstown have been made and administered by whites. At some periods individual whites, welfare and religious organizations have shown some sympathy and concern for the problems of blacks in the area. But such sympathy and concern has never gone so far as to permit blacks effective participation in the life of the city nor even real control over their affairs in the areas allocated to them. In view of the legal restrictions which limit the chances of blacks to gain access to land, the paper is largely a demonstration of the causes and extent of urban landlessness and what implications this situation has on policy making regarding land tenure.

Notes

This paper is based on material collected in Grahamstown at the end of 1985. I am grateful to Michael Whisson and Chris de Wet for reading and commenting on an earlier draft of the paper.

Institute of Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University, Grahamstown