Restitution and post-settlement support: Three case studies from Limpopo

Abstract

This study examines the experience of land reform beneficiaries after land acquisition in three communal property associations (CPAs) in Limpopo province, namely Munzhedzi, Ximange and Mavungeni CPAs. In all three cases, communities were awarded land through land restitution, but Mavungeni also includes a portion of land acquired under the Settlement and Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG) (redistribution) programme. The identified CPAs are located in the same geographical area, under Makhado Local Municipality and Vhembe District Municipality, in the north-eastern part of Limpopo (see Map 1). All three restitution claims were facilitated as a cluster that were officially settled in March 2002. These communities, or parts of them, have been on the land since then, using it for a range of initiatives such as residence, cattle farming, dry-land cropping, irrigation, poultry and pig farming. These communities are made up of two main ethnic groups, Tshivenda-speakers and Xitsonga-speakers. The majority of the people concerned are poor and unemployed.