Management of land redistribution for agricultural development in Gauteng Province

Abstract

Land redistribution for agricultural development was introduced in 2001 when it was realised that SLAG implementation has many challenges. Since inception most LRAD beneficiaries have been struggling to generate income from the land that has been transferred to them. Most of the challenges arise during post-settlement phase. Since post-settlement phase is the last phase in implementation of LRAD there must be some inefficiency in the planning phase that makes it difficult for the beneficiaries to settle well on their land. The aim of the research was to investigate factors leading to the problems encountered at post-settlement phase. The focus was on management, because that is where the direction for implementation of the postsettlement support plan takes place especially at planning phase. The interview questionnaire was used as a source of primary data to gather information from the respondents. The findings of the research revealed that there are important factors of production that need to be taken into consideration. Planning as one of the aspects of management plays a role in reducing the challenges faced by the farmers during post-settlement phase. One of these is strategic planning, where the senior managers must establish ways of achieving the objectives of the programmeme or subprogrammeme and this must serve as a guideline during implementation phase. Department of Land Reform and Rural Development managers took actions that were needed for the Department to be more customerresponsive The conclusion was that the planning phase is very important in the management of a programmeme and it is important to pay attention to the ii actions needed for the Department to be able to achieve their goals and ensure customer satisfaction. The study also suggested that comprehensive support must be provided to the farmers instead of gradual support, since it has been proven that this does not make the desired impact. Comprehensive support can be done well if there is integration of all stakeholders involved.