The role of traditional leaders in land administration in Bushbuckridge local municipality, Mpumalanga province

Abstract

Traditional leaders’ roles in South Africa, is one issue that is highly contested. Traditional leadership is the only institution without clearly defined roles in the Constitution of South Africa. In other countries such as Botswana, Ghana and Zimbabwe, the roles of traditional leaders are clearly stated in the legislative documents. On the other hand, the legislative documents in South Africa do not give these roles clearly when it comes to land administration done by traditional leaders. This study sought to understand the role traditional leaders have in land administration in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. The research used a qualitative design, with Bushbuckridge Local Municipality located in Mpumalanga Province being the case study. The data was collected using in-depth interviews. The research found that traditional leaders have a role in allocating land in their areas of jurisdiction. Traditional leaders also have a participatory role in land planning in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. The major challenges traditional leaders are facing in land administration are land invasion and illegal land allocation in their areas of jurisdiction.