south africa transkei
What landmark KwaZulu-Natal court ruling means for land reform in South Africa BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

What landmark KwaZulu-Natal court ruling means for land reform in South Africa

By Ben Cousins In a landmark judgment a South African high court has declared that people living on customary land in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, notionally held in trust by the Ingonyama (king) of the Zulu people, are the “true and beneficial owners” of that land. It confirms that the Ingonyama Trust Board is not the real owner of this land. It, therefore, cannot…
PLAAS
June 28, 2021
The ‘silent’ dispossession of customary land rights holders for urban development in Zimbabwe BlogFeaturedFeatured Blog

The ‘silent’ dispossession of customary land rights holders for urban development in Zimbabwe

By Phillan Zamchiya, Owen Dhliwayo, Cynthia Gwenzi and Claris Madhuku The dominance of and preoccupation with the radical repossession of largely white-owned commercial farms – since 2000 – for reallocation to millions of black families, although very important, has occluded attention to contradictory but silent processes of state-led dispossession of black communities living under communal tenure systems in Zimbabwe’s rural…
PLAAS
June 21, 2021
Zambia’s new customary tenure relations and implications for women and policy BlogFeaturedFeatured Blog

Zambia’s new customary tenure relations and implications for women and policy

By Phillan Zamchiya, Jesinta Kunda, Elias Simbeye and Dyless Mbewe New customary tenure relations that transcend the dualism between statutory and idealised customary systems as officially reflected in land policies are emerging in Zambia. What is driving this process? What are the new features? Who are the winners and the losers? What are the wider benefits and challenges that can…
PLAAS
June 18, 2021
Small-scale food traders squeezed under Covid BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

Small-scale food traders squeezed under Covid

By Nduduzo Majozi and Nkanyiso Gumede Although many supermarkets made significant profits during South Africa’s hard lockdown, business was harder for informal vendors and bakkie traders in Pietermaritzburg whose incomes fell dramatically, write Nduduzo Majozi and Nkanyiso Gumede The Maharaj’s fruit and vegetable shop is a family business which has been in existence for more than 50 years. Started by…
PLAAS
June 11, 2021
Gendered implications of formalisation of customary tenure in Mozambique BlogFeaturedFeatured Blog

Gendered implications of formalisation of customary tenure in Mozambique

By Phillan Zamchiya, Clemente Ntauazi and Joana Noyes One of the most dramatic post-colonial developments in Africa is the rapid drive towards formalisation of property rights in land, for people who live on customary land. In sub- Saharan Africa about 90% of the land is held under customary tenure. Customary tenure can be defined as a set of rules and…
PLAAS
June 10, 2021
south african farmer
More than just land: Andries du Toit reviews Land Matters by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi BlogFeaturedFeatured Blog

More than just land: Andries du Toit reviews Land Matters by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi

By Andries du Toit Andries du Toit reviews Land Matters: South Africa’s Failed Land Reforms and the Road Ahead by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi Do we really need more books about South Africa’s Land question?  In the last few years, the political crisis around expropriation without compensation has already generated  a  fair bit of reading material: Finding Common Ground by Wandile…
PLAAS
May 28, 2021
Lost seasons for small-scale fishers during Covid-19 BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

Lost seasons for small-scale fishers during Covid-19

By Maia Nangle The geelstert (yellowtail) is a favourite, much consumed fish in South African households, as well as an important source of annual income for small-scale fishing families and communities across the country. Fisherfolk nationwide, including from communities in Gansbaai and Ysterfontein in the Western Cape, travel to Struisbaai near the tip of the Cape Peninsula to harvest this…
PLAAS
May 28, 2021
How Covid-19 regulations affected commercially oriented smallholder farmers in uMgungundlovu in South Africa BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

How Covid-19 regulations affected commercially oriented smallholder farmers in uMgungundlovu in South Africa

By Nkanyiso Gumede The South African government’s bias towards the corporate food system during hard lockdown left many South Africans vulnerable to hunger and food insecurity, and resulted in lost income. Most South Africans rely on supermarkets for food. Most of the food in the supermarkets is sourced from large-scale commercial farmers. Meanwhile, the country’s many smallholder farmers have limited…
PLAAS
May 17, 2021
Ghanaian tomato producers and traders struggle with the state under Covid-19 BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

Ghanaian tomato producers and traders struggle with the state under Covid-19

By Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey In time of a pandemic when food access is already a challenge for many vulnerable people, a country cannot afford unhealthy tensions developing between the state and food producers and traders. Yet, this is currently the state of affairs in Ghana amid a stand-off with the government over the production and supply of tomatoes, which have…
PLAAS
May 14, 2021
Food trader’s perspective on the COVID-19 disruption in South Africa BlogFeatured BlogUncategorized

Food trader’s perspective on the COVID-19 disruption in South Africa

By Marc Wegerif Gloria*  is standing under a rough shelter made from poles with an old tarpaulin over them. This gives her and the fruit and vegetables set out on a rough wooden table in front of her some protection from the sun and rain. The stall is on the corner of the street where Gloria lives with her four…
PLAAS
May 6, 2021