The rural development dilemma
With the introduction of the new Department for Rural Development and Land Reform, the concept of rural development has received much attention in a number of developmental organisations and institutions. This is long overdue.
The government appears to have gone to great lengths in an effort to build infrastructure in rural areas, including clinics, schools and roads, but people are still moving to urban areas in large numbers. This has resulted in high urban unemployment, crime and homelessness. Therefore, the key question at a recent Afesis-corplan quarterly seminar was: What needs to be done to make rural areas a place to live, work and play?
ECSECC’s Policy Researcher, Zolile Ntshona, raised a key question asking whether rural development was a new agenda or one that was merely being perceived as new. Coming from an institution currently engaging with stakeholders in drafting the Eastern Cape Rural Development Strategy, Mr Ntshona pointed out that rural development has become hard to define in the Eastern Cape context, due to the old homeland system.
He stated that the commonly used definition of rural populations refers to small populations using the majority of their land for agricultural purposes. However, there are notable differences between the old Transkei, Ciskei and other rural areas in South Africa; and farming isn’t necessarily being practised in all of these areas. Consequently, there should be different strategies for different rural areas.
Dr Lovemore Rugube, a visiting professor at the University of Pretoria, discussed the pre-requisites of making rural areas a place to live, work and play. Dr Rugube is not only an academic specialist on rural development; he also has personal experience in agriculture and farming. He identified a number of issues that would create an environment conducive to development by focusing on what would make people content and want to live, work and play in rural areas.
However, one of the stark realities is that many rural households are female and child-headed, as most males live in urban areas to try and secure employment. Another is that rural households are dependent on government support through the grant system, whether for old age or child support.
Agriculture may be a very important vehicle to help revive the rural areas. As people become more educated, services and amenities need to be in place to encourage them to stay in these rural areas. This means that infrastructure, including roads, telecommunications, electricity and readily-available water need to be available to support all their living, working and social activities. Furthermore, gender considerations cannot be ignored in implementation strategies, as they may determine whether activities will be successful and get much needed community support.
Dr Patrick Masika, from the Agricultural and Rural Development Research Institute (ARDRI) at the University of Fort Hare, agreed with Dr Rugube regarding the need for greater community involvement in rural development activities and setting up of community development goals. This would guarantee community ownership from the beginning as well as encourage the community to embrace innovative developments initiatives.
He highlighted the need for area-specific research that would determine what resources exist in each area. Most rural economies survive on natural resources as the primary source of economic activity. Dr Masika’s suggestion is in line with the current thinking by AsgiSA-EC, where they are researching land use options before identifying activities that can be undertaken in specific areas.
One of the principles of sustainable development is to offer choices to targeted communities. In a rural context, there needs to be choices in terms of the kinds of economic activities undertaken. The African culture is known to have communal tendencies with major portions of rural areas being under communal tenure. Dr Masika recognised that although this is a strength that can be exploited in supporting rural areas, it is necessary to create choices for individual, group and community activities.
A representative of the Chief Director at the Office of the Premier, Monde Nkasawe elaborated on the linkage between government programmes and the manifesto of the ruling party, looking at how government priorities are set and why rural development has become a priority.
In 2008, the Eastern Cape held its Land Summit and the resultant resolutions form the basis of the land and agrarian reform plans. The summit directed the government to form participatory structures for all the relevant stakeholders in the land process. It also acknowledged the need to understand the differences between the rural areas resulting from past regional demarcations. Concerns were raised on how the planning takes a lot of time while no implementation takes place. This should be considered during the drafting of the provincial Rural Development Strategy.
It was agreed that the new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has the overarching responsibility to ensure progress in rural development. However, its success will lie in structuring activities that are more holistic and participatory. Communities must be actively mobilised to participate and drive their own development by looking at everyone’s needs.
It was noted that research needs to be done in specific areas to assist the decision-making processes and there needs to be sufficient political will. For development to take place, people must own the projects and be involved in managing them.
Land disputes often constrain development in rural areas. It was suggested that perhaps there is a need to establish some form of Truth and Reconciliation Commission for land disputes to look beyond the redistribution of land. For land tenure issues to be resolved, it may be necessary to use the LANDfirst concept recently initiated by Afesis-corplan.
The need for a multi-skilled project approach to rural development was repeatedly emphasised, including partnerships between government institutions, schools, and FET and higher education institutions with champions being identified to ensure that all strategies and pilots sustain and develop rural areas. One of the shortcomings of rural development is the unavailability of financial resources and qualified human resources.
The seminar was graced by major players in rural development circles, including the relevant government departments, NGO sector representatives, community members and academics. Their presentation papers are available on the Afesis-corplan website, www.afesis.org.za.
The government appears to have gone to great lengths in an effort to build infrastructure in rural areas, including clinics, schools and roads, but people are still moving to urban areas in large numbers. This has resulted in high urban unemployment, crime and homelessness. Therefore, the key question at a recent Afesis-corplan quarterly seminar was: What needs to be done to make rural areas a place to live, work and play?
ECSECC’s Policy Researcher, Zolile Ntshona, raised a key question asking whether rural development was a new agenda or one that was merely being perceived as new. Coming from an institution currently engaging with stakeholders in drafting the Eastern Cape Rural Development Strategy, Mr Ntshona pointed out that rural development has become hard to define in the Eastern Cape context, due to the old homeland system.
He stated that the commonly used definition of rural populations refers to small populations using the majority of their land for agricultural purposes. However, there are notable differences between the old Transkei, Ciskei and other rural areas in South Africa; and farming isn’t necessarily being practised in all of these areas. Consequently, there should be different strategies for different rural areas.
Dr Lovemore Rugube, a visiting professor at the University of Pretoria, discussed the pre-requisites of making rural areas a place to live, work and play. Dr Rugube is not only an academic specialist on rural development; he also has personal experience in agriculture and farming. He identified a number of issues that would create an environment conducive to development by focusing on what would make people content and want to live, work and play in rural areas.
However, one of the stark realities is that many rural households are female and child-headed, as most males live in urban areas to try and secure employment. Another is that rural households are dependent on government support through the grant system, whether for old age or child support.
Agriculture may be a very important vehicle to help revive the rural areas. As people become more educated, services and amenities need to be in place to encourage them to stay in these rural areas. This means that infrastructure, including roads, telecommunications, electricity and readily-available water need to be available to support all their living, working and social activities. Furthermore, gender considerations cannot be ignored in implementation strategies, as they may determine whether activities will be successful and get much needed community support.
Dr Patrick Masika, from the Agricultural and Rural Development Research Institute (ARDRI) at the University of Fort Hare, agreed with Dr Rugube regarding the need for greater community involvement in rural development activities and setting up of community development goals. This would guarantee community ownership from the beginning as well as encourage the community to embrace innovative developments initiatives.
He highlighted the need for area-specific research that would determine what resources exist in each area. Most rural economies survive on natural resources as the primary source of economic activity. Dr Masika’s suggestion is in line with the current thinking by AsgiSA-EC, where they are researching land use options before identifying activities that can be undertaken in specific areas.
One of the principles of sustainable development is to offer choices to targeted communities. In a rural context, there needs to be choices in terms of the kinds of economic activities undertaken. The African culture is known to have communal tendencies with major portions of rural areas being under communal tenure. Dr Masika recognised that although this is a strength that can be exploited in supporting rural areas, it is necessary to create choices for individual, group and community activities.
A representative of the Chief Director at the Office of the Premier, Monde Nkasawe elaborated on the linkage between government programmes and the manifesto of the ruling party, looking at how government priorities are set and why rural development has become a priority.
In 2008, the Eastern Cape held its Land Summit and the resultant resolutions form the basis of the land and agrarian reform plans. The summit directed the government to form participatory structures for all the relevant stakeholders in the land process. It also acknowledged the need to understand the differences between the rural areas resulting from past regional demarcations. Concerns were raised on how the planning takes a lot of time while no implementation takes place. This should be considered during the drafting of the provincial Rural Development Strategy.
It was agreed that the new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has the overarching responsibility to ensure progress in rural development. However, its success will lie in structuring activities that are more holistic and participatory. Communities must be actively mobilised to participate and drive their own development by looking at everyone’s needs.
It was noted that research needs to be done in specific areas to assist the decision-making processes and there needs to be sufficient political will. For development to take place, people must own the projects and be involved in managing them.
Land disputes often constrain development in rural areas. It was suggested that perhaps there is a need to establish some form of Truth and Reconciliation Commission for land disputes to look beyond the redistribution of land. For land tenure issues to be resolved, it may be necessary to use the LANDfirst concept recently initiated by Afesis-corplan.
The need for a multi-skilled project approach to rural development was repeatedly emphasised, including partnerships between government institutions, schools, and FET and higher education institutions with champions being identified to ensure that all strategies and pilots sustain and develop rural areas. One of the shortcomings of rural development is the unavailability of financial resources and qualified human resources.
The seminar was graced by major players in rural development circles, including the relevant government departments, NGO sector representatives, community members and academics. Their presentation papers are available on the Afesis-corplan website, www.afesis.org.za.