Browsing by Author "Chitonge, Horman"

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    Assisting Africa: a critical analysis of technical assistance in low carbon development practice
    (2019) du Toit, Michelle; Chitonge, Horman; Winkler, Harald
    Climate change mitigation efforts are increasingly forming part of the agendas of African nations, particularly since the inclusion of voluntary targets for these countries within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement of 2015. This focus towards the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, together with the need to achieve development objectives, has become combined in the practice of ‘low carbon development’ within developing countries. Technical assistance programmes have been set up to support the achievement of low carbon development, and these activities typically flow from the global North to Africa. However the power structures and flows of benefit that underlie these practices have not been the subject of much enquiry and are largely occluded within the climate change mitigation community of practice. With the inclusion of climate change mitigation targets for developing countries together with a direct call for increased capacity building within the Paris Agreement, the volume of technical assistance support focused towards Africa is likely to increase. As such the need to consider what effective technical assistance, that is both equitable and appropriate to the African context, might look like becomes a priority. This study engages with these issues. By considering the literature arising from decolonial studies and development theory together with bringing to the fore the perceptions of African climate change mitigation professionals, it provides a critical analysis of the tacit assumptions that are legitimated within the technical assistance practice in climate change mitigation. The study finds that current modes of technical assistance practice within low carbon development continues to entrench the hegemonic nature of knowledge of the global North, and perpetuates the placement of Africa in a position of extraversion towards the North, assuming African government and climate change practitioners as lacking in knowledge and expertise. The study advocates for a more equal and bilateral flow of knowledge between the two regions in order for African nations to faster and more effectively reach the twin goals of development and mitigation within Africa. It considers the lack of the critical theories of decolonial studies and development theory in climate change scholarship (particularly the absence of African voices in the debate) and brings these alternative voices and theories into low carbon development technical assistance practice.
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    Border thinking and the modern Plaasroman: a study of three novels
    (2021) Winfield, Matthew; Garuba, Harry; Chitonge, Horman
    In Afrikaans literature, the farm concept has a history of entanglement with ideals that are racist and nationalist. The early plaasroman (farm novel in Afrikaans) subgenre was a product of the 1920s and the 1930s, a period when Afrikaner nationalism was incipient. Later farm novelists brought new energy to the plaasroman during the second half of the twentieth century. In the modern plaasroman subgenre, challenges to racist-nationalist ideals are exhibited, along with ideals of the early plaasroman. The following study is an attempt to gauge whether, and the extent to which, three modern plaasromans are an expression of border thinking. These novels are Etienne Leroux's Seven Days at the Silbersteins, Etienne van Heerden's Ancestral Voices and Nadine Gordimer's The Conservationist. The paradigm of border thinking is chosen due to the similarities between its objectives, on the one hand, and the critical stance of the modern plaasroman, on the other hand. Both border thinking and the modern plaasroman can be described as a response to racial injustice and inequality. For this reason, it would seem that a study of modern plaasromans is well-suited as a context for the application of border thinking. Given that previous studies addressed challenges by modern plaasromans to racist and nationalist ideals, moreover, a study that deploys border thinking (focusing on racial injustice) is considered to be a valuable critical contribution. In order to determine whether these three novels are expressions of border thinking, this study first formulates three templates of ‘literary border thinking' (border thinking that is expressed in literature). Criteria that are derived from these templates are then used to determine whether, and the extent to which, these novels represent literary border thinking.
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    Contestations and conflicts over land access between smallholder settler farmers and nomadic Fulani cattle herdsmen in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District, Ghana
    (2022) Otu, Bernard Okoampah; Chitonge, Horman
    The study examines the contestations and conflicts over land access between smallholder settler farmers and nomadic cattle herders in the Kwahu Afram Plains South District. Current studies on the farmer-herder conflict in Ghana have emphasised the conflict between indigenous farmers and nomadic herders. This study has contributed to existing knowledge by highlighting the conflict between two migrant groups. As migrants, both settler farmers and nomadic herders are renting land and, in the process, come into conflict. The tension in the area is that both migrant groups have no ownership of land, which exposes their vulnerability to the landowners in the sense that they have no firm land rights. The study's main objective is to examine the root causes of the conflict between crop farmers and nomadic herders in the case study area of the Afram Plains. The environmental scarcity and political ecology theories were utilised to analyse the conflict in the study area. The study adopted the qualitative approach with the purposive and snowball sampling methods used to select participants for the research. The study's findings reveal that increasing land scarcity due to population growth, climate-induced migration, and large-scale land acquisition is a major cause of the land conflict. The study further reveals that, aside from the core issues leading to land scarcity, what instantly ignites conflict between farmers and herders includes crop destruction, burning of grasses, and alleged vices perpetrated by the herders. The findings of the study also reveal that the mitigation measures put in place to address the conflict have been ineffective because of corruption, poor land governance, and greedy chiefs. The study concludes that the farmer-herder conflict is complex and needs to be examined from diverse perspectives to appreciate the nuances of the conflict.
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    The contribution of pro-poor growth programmes to poverty reduction in Rwanda : a case study of the Girinka Programme in rural Rwanda
    (2015) Rugema, Michelle; Chitonge, Horman
    This study investigates the contribution of the Girinka Programme, a pro-poor growth programme in Rwanda, to poverty reduction. Recent studies have placed increasing emphasis on the contribution of pro-poor growth to poverty reduction and have argued that pro-poor growth has the potential to reduce poverty more effectively than economic growth. Poverty, for this study, is measured based on the following indicators of poverty derived from the United Nations (1998) definition of poverty: nutrition, access to health care services, access to water, education, and access to credit. Income or the lack thereof, is not the sole determinant of poverty, and is not “the sum total of human life” (United Nations Development Programme, 1990), therefore relying solely on quantitative measurements of poverty that are based on income can paint an incomplete picture of the reality on the ground. Therefore, since poverty is multidimensional, this study uses a multidimensional approach to its analysis and goes beyond the quantitative aspects of poverty. Qualitative research methods were used for this study, and fieldwork was conducted in Kayonza District, located in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. In-depth interviews were held with beneficiaries and prospective beneficiaries of the Girinka Programme in order to determine the programme’s contribution to a meaningful reduction in poverty. In addition, interviews were held with Girinka local and national programme officials. Secondary data in the form of programme documents was also collected, reviewed and analysed.
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    Fast track land reform and belonging: examining linkages between resettlement areas and communal areas in Zvimba District, Zimbabwe
    (University of Cape Town, 2020) Marewo, Malvern Kudakwashe; Chitonge, Horman; Matose, Frank
    This study examines whether beneficiaries of Zimbabwe's Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) of 2000 in resettlement areas maintain linkages with communal areas of origin. Present studies about the FTLRP provide limited in-depth attention to the importance of understanding linkages with places of origin. The study sought to explore the extent to which beneficiaries of the FTLRP are connected to their communal areas of origin, as well as the implications of the ties. Analysis of linkages is through social relationships and labour exchanges between people in resettlement areas and communal areas. This was done through a conceptual framework of belonging, which helped explain the various attachments to places of origin. The study was guided by a qualitative research approach. A case study of Machiroli Farm, an A1 villagised settlement, and Zvimba communal areas (Ward 6), Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe was utilised. The study's main finding is that beneficiaries of the FTLRP in the A1 model on Machiroli Farm retain linkages with communal areas of origin; beneficiaries of the FTLRP acquired new land without discarding ties and relations with places of origin. Most respondents attached clear importance to maintaining linkages with places of origin. Some respondents did not maintain ties with places of origin because of conflicts and breakdowns in family ties, highlighting that belonging is not static. Evidence from this case study shows that maintenance of linkages assists with agricultural production and enhancing social relations. Another important finding is that belonging enforced the maintenance of relations through factors, such as familial relations, burial sites, clubs, ceremonies and labour exchanges with communal areas of origin. The study argues that belonging is an aspect that ties people together despite physical translocation. Thus, this study's contribution is that, within land reform debates, physical translocation does not break the bonds with, or ties to, places of origin. Belonging enables several functions, such as access to labour, mitigation of economic challenges and enhancement of social relations, as demonstrated by this case study. For scholarship, the study contributes to land reform debates by applying the concept of belonging, which has mostly been applied to border and migration studies policy. The framework of belonging within land reform reveals the importance of social, cultural, religious and economic effects in accessing labour and enhancing agricultural production in agrarian settings. The study draws the conclusion that beneficiaries of land reform desire to remain relevant to a host of political, economic, spiritual and social aspects anchored in places of origin. Therefore, resettlement does not break ties which people have with places of origin, people embrace the new without discarding the old relations.
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    From Development Aid to Development Partnerships – the End of Coloniality? Critical discourse analysis of DFID's development partnership with South Africa
    (2018) Strand, Mia; Garuba, Harry; Chitonge, Horman
    Development aid discourses have been criticised for perpetuating othering and coloniality. The discourses have been argued to produce and reproduce conceptual creations of a distinguishable 'us' and 'them' through binaries of 'developed' and 'underdeveloped', and they have been stated to uphold lingering colonial and racial hierarchies where the former colonial powers remain preeminent and subjugate the 'Global South'. This decolonial critique of development aid discourses and their perpetuation of asymmetrical relationships between donor and recipient has led to the emergence of development partnerships. This discourse emphasises the levelling of the playing field, and mutual cooperation to achieve common development goals. The development partnership discourse thus appears to challenge the othering and coloniality inherent in former development aid discourses. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) ended their 'traditional' bilateral aid programme to South Africa and implemented a 'development partnership' in its place. DFID's development partnership discourse has previously been criticised for denying mutuality, however, and for perpetuating racialised hierarchies. The question is therefore whether the discourse surrounding DFID's development partnership with South Africa is perpetuating othering and coloniality, or whether it is establishing a relationship built on mutual interests and cooperation. This research paper analyses two DFID policy papers setting out the planning of the partnership approach, and four transcripts of interviews with representatives involved in the implementation of the development partnership. By applying Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) the thesis analyses linguistic aspects of the discourse that serves to uphold certain power structures by defining decision-­‐making. The CDA particularly focuses on the science, narrative and perceived 'truths' about development, the recontextualisation of its particular language and the interconnectedness with other discourses that continue to sustain and reproduce the discourse. The research finds a more nuanced approach to development, as conceptualised by the representatives involved in the implementation of the partnership, and that it is challenging the 'imperial gaze' inherent in development aid discourses. However, the analysis also reveals clear examples of othering and coloniality. This is evident through linguistic distancing through notions of time, relying on particular binaries, and referring to a naturalised development trajectory which denies lived experiences and subjugate South Africa as a country. The suggestion of mutuality therefore appears to be just a façade, and the development partnership discourse is rather emphasising difference and justifying colonial hierarchies.
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    Household and community effects of contract farming after the fast track land reform programme: a case study of Mazowe tobacco farmers
    (2019) Moyo, Moses; Chitonge, Horman
    This study investigates the household and community effects that arise from tobacco farmers’ participation and performance under tobacco contract farming arrangements in Mazowe District. The provision of land to A1 Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) beneficiaries, attracted the re-entry of capitalist agriculture system and revitalised of smallholder tobacco production. Access to land was central to farmers’ participation, performance and outcomes from tobacco production. The study used the access theory framework, to track mechanisms and processes farmers followed when negotiating the use of productive resources to participate and generate income from contract farming. The study further tracks how this income was used and with what effect to the household and community. A case study using a mixed method approach was used with the qualitative aspect assessing and explaining the contextual, historical and contemporary phenomena surrounding farmer participation, performance and the use of the contract farming proceeds, all this with the aim of establishing causal links of contract farming to community effects. A quantitative analysis, based on a survey questionnaire and a sample of 150 farmers, measured the production and income outcomes of the farmers. Regression models and descriptive statistics using SPSS were used to analyse data from a survey questionnaire. The study found that contract farming benefited the household and had positive spillover effects within the community of Mazowe. Contract farming arrangements had a positive effect on employment, service provision and food security. Provision of staple food inputs, helped increase food production which was exchanged for labour.Increased income resulted in contract farmers diversifying cash crop production and investment into nonfarm activities which generated employment and service spillovers within the community. The paradox, however, is that most farmers struggled under contract farming, were indebted and dependent on the contractor, in a captive relationship, for continued tobacco production. Those who struggled had difficulty accessing cash advances for labour and assets needed to produce a quality crop. Logit results showed that resourced-farmers were more likely to participate, stay and perform well in contract farming arrangements while the poor exited. Initial resource endowments of farmers were an important determinant of the participation, production and income outcomes of participating farmers and that this was a source of social differentiation in Mazowe. FTLRP beneficiaries outperformed their communal counterparts in welfare measures tested, indicating the importance of land in rural livelihoods. After the FTLRP there was a tenfold increase in smallholder farmers producing over 84 percent of the tobacco under contract. The shift in land ownership from large scale farmers to peasants forced agribusinesses to negotiate resource providing contracts with small scale farmers. The contracts provided partial resources with the farmer needing to provide supplementary inputs and services. Prices were determined by market forces and were deemed unfair by farmers. Farmers responded to these challenges through social relationships. Access to land by deficient households, labour, production resources and better prices were negotiated through networks and social ties. Again, A1 FTLRP beneficiaries wielded more power in navigating the social relationships to their benefit, which could be attributed to their large land holdings. This study contributes to the literature by showing that contract farming benefits both the household and community. Tobacco production was revitalised by the re-entry of capital into smallholder sector, and small scale farmers mitigated the exploitative forms of capital through social relationships. For contract farming to contribute to rural livelihoods, there is a need for research to address resource endowment, power imbalance gaps and institutional arrangements that help build the poor’s asset holdings.
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    How has environmental violence been experienced during the Cape Town water crisis using the Newlands Spring as a case-study
    (2019) Swain, Meagen Courtney; Chitonge, Horman; Matose, Frank
    Four million residents of a major modern city faced the very likely existential and physical threat of running out of water. The water crisis continues to be an extremely complex threat with many complicated aspects to the drought, which resulted in residents of Cape Town reacting with intensity to this danger. The crisis is an example of how ignoring environmental issues can lead to catastrophic outcomes for society. For South Africa, which is characterized by a turbulent history, Homer-Dixon (1999) predicted there would be violent conflict in the future over resource scarcities. The drought was not a shock, it was a stress; what the drought fashioned were instances of shock which mostly related to the media campaign for Day Zero. Although no violent conflict on a mass scale has transpired as a result of the ongoing water crisis, there have been cases of civil violence. From protests at the greater Cape Town scale to physical altercations witnessed at Newlands Spring, the results of the present study demonstrate that mass violent conflict is not a far-off consequence of water scarcity. This research aimed to determine whether environmental violence was a lived experience for the residents of Cape Town due to the water crisis. One of the objectives was to understand whether the water crisis-induced feeling of distress and anxiety and whether indicators of slow violence and “Solastalgia” could be identified; a concept put forth to provide clarity to distresses which are environmentally caused (Albrecht et al., 2007; Higginbotham et al., 2007). Over the course of October 2018, semi-structured interviews were conducted with security and informal workers and a public survey was conducted with 100 residents who collect water at the Newlands Spring. The outcomes observed in this research is that when people feel as though their security is threatened, people tend to respond violently to the scarcity of a vital resource. The key finding of this study is that environmental violence was experienced over the crisis period. This leads to the conclusion that Solastalgia was likely to be experienced by those engaging within this Newlands Spring environment and elsewhere. The Structural violence and Supply induced violence have meant that people across South Africa experience water crises of different scales. Climate change is to aggravate these existing forms of violence and produce more complex psychological, social and economic impacts on those affected by water scarcity. Furthermore, this research contributes to the knowledge that droughts and water scarcity pose immeasurable threats to humanity.
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    The impact of coal mining on the living conditions of rural communities in Mozambique: a case study of Cateme
    (2014) Macheve, Antonio Jr; Chitonge, Horman
    In mineral-rich countries, large-scale extractive industry projects often offer mixed blessings. On one hand, mining royalties and taxes provide funds that amplify state coffers allowing for investments in infrastructure, social services and community development. In addition, jobs are created and local enterprises find new opportunities to provide goods and services to transnational companies spearheading the projects, enhancing livelihoods and contributing towards economic growth. On the other hand, large revenues from the mining sector may create opportunities for corruption, undermining public transparency and accountability from public officials. Furthermore, mining booms may hamper productivity and competitiveness in other industries through real exchange rate appreciation. Mining also has hazardous environmental effects often exposing surrounding communities to long-term health risks. The fairly recent large-scale extractive industry projects in central and northern Mozambique are not exempt from some the above-mentioned factors, particularly in the booming coal mining town of Moatize. The current study examines the impact of mining operations by Brazilian mining company Vale on the living conditions of resettled communities in the district of Moatize. The study focuses on the period from 2010 to 2013, which corresponds to the first stage of active exploration of coal in Moatize and the first years of integration of the resettled families in their recently built community. The Moatize Coal Reserve in Mozambique is deemed to be the largest reserve of untapped coal in the world (Audu, Ribeiro, Scott, & Taniguchi, 2006). The world’s largest mining companies, accompanied by a massive crowd of investors and fortune-seekers, are flooding the country with prospects for astronomical profits in the mining industry. In addition to coal, the country possesses over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (Verma, 2012). Other lucrative natural resources in Mozambique include gold, rubies and tantalum. These latest discoveries undeniably position Mozambique as a resource-rich country.
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    Regional integration in SADC: the role of BRICS countries
    (2022) Hazar, Cenk; Chitonge, Horman
    The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of bilateral BRICS-SADC trade connections on SADC's regional economic integration. The issues that were explored included among others whether or not the SADC countries' trade relations with BRICS countries contribute to SADC's goal of promoting deeper regional economic integration. The impact of the trade relations with BRICS countries on the development of intra-SADC trade has been analysed, as development of intra-trade is one of the most important factors that can ensure economic integration of SADC region. This research applied the dependency theory in order to articulate what type of trade relationship exists between SADC and BRICS countries. This research was a desktop study that relied on existing secondary data gathered by the United Nations Comtrade. In order to engage with the issues of trade relations, the study explored how exported and imported goods between member countries are dealt with. The research therefore has analysed trading operations between BRICS nations and SADC countries through using data from the United Nations Comtrade database. The United Nations Comtrade database has been used as the principal source in analysing trading operations between BRICS and SADC states. Statistics of commerce within SADC countries as well as outwardly with BRICS are based on taking SADC countries as the reporting countries in the UN Comtrade trade statistics. While BRICS operations are expected to contribute to the growth of African countries, there appears to be substantial concerns about BRICS countries, particularly China, influence expanding in SADC region with several studies claiming that establishing economic contacts – particularly with China, has led to de-industrialisation in SADC. The region appears to be sliding more into large-scale reliance on resource exports thus creating deeper dependence on raw material or primary product exports. This study expounded the core argument that trade relations of SADC countries with those of the BRICS may actually be hindering the development of intra-SADC trade and ultimately SADC economic integration progress. This research found that BRICS countries' trade relations with SADC countries are not compatible with the specified targets for SADC regional economic integration. While Russia and Brazil are BRICS countries with low trade volumes within SADC region, China has the largest portion of bilateral trade with SADC region. This investigation also found that it is highly possible that trade with China and India has a negative impact on the domestic economic development of SADC countries especially their infant industries since it curbs the domestic industries' opportunities to achieve the expected benefits in the integration process. Another outcome of the analysis is that SADC intra-trade rate, which is already limited, remains extremely low if South Africa is excluded from intratrade statistics – pointing out that South Africa dominates trade within SADC region.
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    Survival strategies among informal economy businesses: the case of small maize millers in Zambia
    (2024) Mwango, Mutale; Chitonge, Horman; Matose Frank
    This study explores whether the informal sector survives in a competitive environment. It focuses on informal maize millers in an industry dominated by large-scale milling firms. The study was guided by a mixed methodology for data collection and analysis. This entailed the use of a case study design which facilitated the use of detailed, multi-faceted investigations of intricate issues in their real-life settings. Specifically, a customer survey and interviews with policy experts, informal millers, activists, and participant observations were used to collect data on the practices of informal maize millers' survival in a competitive environment. Primary data were complemented by use of secondary sources, which included various documents from the public sector, civil society and international organisations in the quest to have a deeper understanding of the informal sector. Present studies about informal maize millers in Zambia provide limited attention to understanding practices of informal sector establishments. This study used the structuralist theory to explain how informal maize millers operate in a competitive environment. Structural theory focuses on the patterns of relationships among social actors. The structuralist theory is used to understand the connection that occurs between formal and informal sector activities because it takes the informal sector as being connected to the formal sector. The study applied the structuralist theories to the informal milling sector in Zambia by demonstrating interlinkages between large formal firms and market needs through servicing the needs of impoverished consumers in townships who depend on such firms and by supplying niche products to state institutions and supermarkets that were not supplied by large firms. The study identified and discussed different factors which enable informal millers to survive the competition from big commercial milling companies. The study also found that informal maize millers cater for different categories of customers including low, middle- and high-income customers. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by making an empirical contribution to understanding the survival of informal maize millers in an industry dominated by large-scale milling firms. Furthermore, from the insights, the study also develops a framework for survival and competitiveness showing pathways for informal maize millers. The study makes the argument that informal maize millers survive competition by adopting various survival strategies, such as choosing to remain informal, diversifying the maize products, and offering lower prices for maize meal.
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    The geography of inequality in Cape Town: a case study of access to water in Khayelitsha
    (2022) Mokoena, Amanda Mamojaki; Chitonge, Horman
    Section 27 (1b) of the Bill of Rights under the Constitution (1996) of the Republic of South Africa states that: “Everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water …” This section is preceded by section 26 (1) which states that: “Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing.” Violation of these fundamental human rights in isolation may apply to a vast category of people. However, the residents of Endlovini in Khayelitsha find themselves at the intersection of oppressions informed by the simultaneous infringement of both these rights. For these residents, inequality in access to safe clean drinking water is directly informed by their location and informal housing status. This is a difficult position to be in because the people of Endlovini are neighbours to Litha Park, a recognized formal section of Khayelitsha whose residents enjoy relatively adequate access to quality water, and whose water services are astronomically better than those rendered in Endlovini. This disparity is immediately written off as a class issue. However, this study finds deeper links between geography and water inequality. This study uses John Rawls' theory of justice to highlight water inequality in Cape Town. The study uses qualitative research methodologies through fieldwork conducted in the formal settlement of Litha Park and the informal settlement of Endlovini in Khayelitsha, to illustrate that there are inequalities in how people within the same township access water, but both settlements are still marginalized, compared to the wealthy suburbs of Cape Town. Interviews were conducted with the residents of both settlements, as well as officials from the City of Cape Town's Water and Sanitation Department to gather data and address the research question: “How does the City of Cape Town's response to the water crisis further perpetuate water inequality in the impoverished communities of Khayelitsha?” Key findings revealed that water inequality in Khayelitsha may have been created by apartheid spatial planning, but is sustained by the disregard for poor communities by the local government through unequal, anti-poor service delivery that continues to disenfranchise residents who live in informal settlements through poor water services. The study, whose main objective is to highlight the disparities in water access and services received by the different locations within the township, adds to the body of knowledge on inequality in water access by providing a focused comparison between different kinds of settlements within the same township; to highlight the difficulties in applying Rawls' justice theoretical framework where existing research focuses on comparing townships as a monolith to the suburbs.
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    The role of social capital in the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) of Zimbabwe: a case of Rouxdale (R/E) Farm, Bubi District, Matabeleland North Province
    (2018) Ncube, Senzeni; Chitonge, Horman; Matose, Frank
    This study investigates the role of social capital towards the realisation of the positive benefits of land through the A1 crop-based villagised model of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), which has been largely viewed as successful in academic literature. The study emerges out of a large gap in scholarly literature, which largely side-lines social outcomes of the FTLRP while focusing mostly on material outcomes. The study contributes to limited research on the non-material outcomes in the Matabeleland North Province, an under researched area in the subject of land reform in Zimbabwe. Thus, social capital was selected to investigate these non-visible outcomes of FTLRP. A qualitative research design was used, with semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, observation, archives and secondary literature being the main sources of data. The study focused on a single case study, beneficiaries of Rouxdale (R/E) farm in Bubi District. The study brings the following insights: first, social capital played a pivotal role in accessing land. Second, ordinary people acquired land. Third, women were empowered through access to land. Fourth, land is an asset whose benefits far surpass livelihood creation. Fifth, land reform models have an impact on social capital. The main contribution of the study is that social capital promotes solidarity and the tackling of collective problems in land reform models with a communal component. The study illustrates that social capital creates a conducive environment for the attainment of the benefits of land. This is facilitated by beneficiaries’ effort to maintain healthy social network relationships. The study demonstrates that various decisions of the state have a potential of hindering social capital in resettlement areas through the destruction of social network relationships, such that its positive impact becomes limited. This portrays the fragile nature of social capital, which can easily be destroyed by external negative factors, regardless of the length of time taken in establishing it. Social capital can be applied in different spheres. However, its outcomes are directly informed by different contexts, thus making it context specific in nature. The study stresses that governments that use social capital in land reform should be conscious of local contextual dynamics before developing programmes that affect beneficiaries, in order to preserve existing social network relationships. The fragility and context specific nature of social capital is missing in the conceptualisation of its main scholars, yet they emerge as important aspects in this study. The study points to the need for these to be incorporated into the core elements of the concept of social capital to create a more holistic framework of analysis. The study therefore argues that social capital is vital in land reform and the post-settlement phase.
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    “This is the place that the women built”: A case study of the nexus of formalised land rights and housing recognition on spatial justice in Cape Town
    (2022) Clark, Sarah; Chitonge, Horman
    Many citizens and residents of Post-Apartheid South Africa suffer from past spatial planning policies that deprived black South Africans of access to economic opportunity. This research investigated how formalisation of land rights inhibits the capability of the urban poor in Cape Town to access urban opportunity. The main research question explored whether the formalisation of land rights affects alienation of the residents of Victoria Mxenge (VMX) settlement from urban access. The study uses the VMX case study to highlight the challenges associated with formalising land rights in poor urban areas. VMX is a non-residentially zoned settlement in Cape Town that consists of approximately 140 homes constructed under a formal Communal Property Association (CPA) title deed that allows for communal land ownership. Informal processes and citizenship, the themes of the research, were drawn out of the main study question and objectives. The theory of access was selected as the research' conceptual framework. This framework helps to explain the relationship of the VMX community to land, housing, and access to associated urban opportunity. The research methodology was founded on qualitative data collection, specifically interviews with seven members of the VMX community, supported by secondary review of provincial data and policy documentation. Formalisation and municipal policy were reviewed for the rezoning of the VMX settlement as a formal township, as well as the replacement of the CPA deed with individual title deeds for VMX residents. Interviews with the VMX community found that residents felt a necessity for additional formalisation to access further value from the rights under the CPA deed. Residents of VMX experienced benefits from the CPA title deed, however, found limitations in their manufactured forms of access. Informal tools and solutions are perceived as unacknowledged by government and government assistance to individualise ownership is slow and not prioritised. Comparisons to superior services in nearby communities led respondents to see individual title deeds as preferable to the CPA deed. VMX exemplifies how, in an urban setting, having land and housing still presents limitations for access to services and opportunity. Further formalisation, such as residential zoning and/or individual title deeds, would reduce alienation for VMX residents, increase urban access, and enhance citizenship. Recognition as citizens is fundamental to access. Lessons learned from VMX can be applied by government and community members manufacturing forms of access. Community-led solutions are valid and should be further legitimised in the sphere of land and housing.
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    Water and sociality in Khayelitsha: an ethnographic study
    (2022) Kongo, Minga Mbweck; Nyamnjoh, Francis; Chitonge, Horman
    This study examines forms of social relationships created around unequal municipal water distribution in South Africa. Using the case of Khayelitsha, the study investigates residents' use of water to sustain their livelihood and build personhood. Water mobilises the formation of relationships in myriad ways. How residents, collectively and individually, imagine, negotiate and construct their future pathways around resources available to them in a social group is explored. Ethnographic tools are used to address how social formations are created around municipal water in Khayelitsha. The study looks into how inequalities related to access to water in Cape Town are produced with inequitable development patterns. Using incompleteness and conviviality as framework, the study seeks to understand how ideas of social formation, belonging, marginality, and physical and social mobility are produced, reproduced and contested around water. By focusing on the strategies deployed by residents, this study also seeks to describe the challenges of inadequate water access experienced by residents in less- provisioned areas. The multiple relations with, and complexities of, municipal water are chronicled, as well as how Khayelitsha residents think about, relate and respond to water. The empirical data reveal several structural issues characterising the formation of social relations: incompleteness, impoverishment, marginalisation, water access and minimal opportunities. Despite many challenges, frustration, and heavy reliance on communal taps, tanks, water trucks, and hydrants, shack dwellers particularly cherish an ideal of self-sufficiency with the limited amount of water they access. In this quest, they maintain social relations and resistance to the political economy of water. They achieve this by mobility from one settlement to another, maintaining a strong sense of community, belonging, social relationships, and household interdependence, connected to a sense of incompleteness and, to a more considerable extent, Ubuntu. This social practice is manifested in various forms: neighbourliness, water usage at communal points, land occupations, and strikes, amongst others. By combining the structural issues and aspects of social practices provided above, water is seen as a substance that constructs social formations through the phenomena of incompleteness and conviviality. The data were collected during several field visits between February 2020 and March 2021 through observation of interactions and participation in residents' social activities and formal and informal interviews and group discussions with a representative sample of residents in Khayelitsha.