Community Empowerment Facility Profile

BACKGROUND

Despite the legal protection offered by the Constitution and Land Rights legislation, farm dwellers on commercial farms in South Africa remain citizens without rights, hence the voice of the rural poor is neither heard nor heeded. The rate of harassment and human rights abuses, threatened and actual evictions, reflects that little has changed for rural farm dwellers in South Africa. The legal and policy framework and implementation methodology of the government's land reform programme lacks the ability to address the real constraints and plight of marginalized farm dwellers in the country. This is compounded by institutional challenges in the provision of post settlement support and infrastructural development within an integrated sustainable rural livelihoods framework. All these factors are exacerbated by the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on individuals and communities within rural society.

The issue of access to sustainable development remains a challenge for farm dwellers. The advent of the policy of Integrated Development Plans by the local authorities has not addressed farm dwellers' development needs. Although space has been created by these policies, a further challenge is the capacity of the marginalized groups to engage with these policies and programmes. In the context of its organizational vision and historical relationship with farm dwellers, AFRA is committed to assisting communities with capacity-building and organizational development.

The project aims to assist farm dweller communities with whom AFRA works in KwaZulu Natal to engage with and devise strategies to overcome the current challenges which they face in achieving their livelihood objectives and tenure security. It is based on a premise that farm dwellers, despite their marginalization in rural society, have the means to organize and effectively promote their entitlement to equal rights in law and as a critical component of South African society.

The weak political voice of farm dwellers and their alienation from the broader socio-political and economic context of the province, has contributed to their marginalization and their inability to assert their rights and demands for equitable redress and inclusion in development and economic opportunities at local and regional levels. The Farm Dwellers Project is thus intended to develop and enhance the capacity of rural farm dwellers to effectively organise and co-ordinate their efforts to achieve this redress.

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GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

Overall objective:

The voices of rural women and men are heard, they are included and able to actively participate in and influence decision making processes which affect their livelihood strategy and security of tenure.

Specific objectives:

1. To consolidate, expand and confirm working relationship with farm dwellers in identified districts or sub districts.
2. To develop and agree to nature of supports and plans for addressing land rights in each area and facilitate negotiated settlements for long term tenure security for farm dwellers.
3. To identify development project plans for each area through municipalities' Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), and research and assist communities to develop advocacy strategies and options.
4. To support farm dwellers in each area to consolidate and maintain representative institutions to take forward their land and development plans and issues through capacity building, networking and advocacy work.
5. To facilitate understanding on the impact of HIV/AIDS on farm dwellers' security of tenure and livelihoods, and develop strategies to deal with the same.
6. To identify land rights infringement cases in each area for referral to Land Legal Cluster Project for legal assistance, lobbying and advocacy.
7. To contribute issues and lessons from fieldwork to AFRA and farm dwellers' advocacy work to influence legislative and policy changes.  

Expected results:

• Through a combination of capacity building, networking, lobbying and advocacy activities, the issues of farm dwellers are promoted.

• Through stakeholder analysis, the livelihood strategies are identified and developed, organization of farm dwellers are promoted and farm dwellers are empowered to participate and influence issues affecting their lives.

• Through information dissemination, land use and tenure workshops, those farm dwellers that are accessing land through the land reform programme are assisted to engage in activities that enhances their livelihoods.

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WHO WILL BENEFIT?

This project will consolidate and further expand AFRA's work with nine farm dweller districts as detailed below in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

AFRA and the TSCC (Tenure Security Co-ordinating Committee that represents rural landless people and also communities who have accessed land through the land reform programmes in the province) interact at a broader provincial level, whilst at a local level AFRA works with the district structures. AFRA works with district structures as points of contact to the farm dweller communities within these districts.

Farm dwellers districts:

1. Dannhauser
2. Estcourt
3. Eston
4. Greytown
5. Ingogo
6. Impendle
7. Mooi River
8. Utrecht
9. Vryheid  

The target group is black farm dwellers resident in the above nine districts. These districts do not necessarily align with the government's municipal district demarcations. There are approximately 49,500 people located within these communities.

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CONCLUSION

AFRA is committed to promoting the values of gender equality and pa rtici pa tory democracy. Partici pa tory methodology is used in the implementation of AFRA's organizational and project plans. This fulfils AFRA's commitment to ca pa city building and organizational development to community structures and communities at large. The organization places primary emphasis on working with marginalised groups including women, youth and the poorest of the poor. This organizational ethos ensures that project implementation plans are reflective of this value base.

AFRA considers the Department of Land Affairs to be one of the key role players in all land reform project processes and as having specific duties in the delivery of land reform projects. AFRA's role is not that of land delivery, but that of support and capacity building to the identified potential and actual land reform beneficiaries for improved security of tenure as well enhanced livelihood strategies. The organization acknowledges that the Department and AFRA's work should complement each other within the ambit of their specific responsibilities in the government and civil society sectors.

Local Government institutions such as municipalities are critical hubs in infrastructure frameworks and for ensuring the delivery at local level of integrated development opportunities to farm dwellers. The advent of the Integrated Development Plans within local government structures creates a space within which farm dwellers can lobby for their issues to be put on the agenda. It is critical that consultative relationships be developed between communities, their representatives and such structures.

The Tenure Security Co-ordinating Committee is the co-ordinating provincial representative structure of farm dweller communities in KwaZulu-Natal on land and development issues. The main objective of the TSCC is information dissemination on ESTA and the LTA to farm communities, and mobilization and co-ordination of the activities of different farm community structures.

AFRA has a long history of working with farm dweller communities whose tenure is insecure. The organization's mission statement clearly outlines AFRA's commitment to advancing farm dweller communities' interests to ensure security of tenure and access to development. This operating principle creates an enabling environment for project sustainability as it is premised on artic ula ted support requirements of the communities with whom AFRA staff work. Acknowledging that the external context has an impact on sustainability, it is worth noting that the South African land reform framework has created an environment in which communities may engage with the programme at a more improved bargaining position - this is a positive factor towards the project's success.

It is important to reiterate that AFRA's target group is rural black communities, the most marginalized and the poorest of the poor. These communities have a strong cultural background and a prevalence of gender discrimination. AFRA has over the years identified a gender focus as a critical issue cutting across all projects and as such strives to integrate an ethos of gender sensitivity and capacity building in the implementation of all projects, partic ula rly the Farm Dwellers Project. Fieldwork experience has taught AFRA that culturally entrenched mindsets cannot be changed overnight; hence there is a need for a continued engagement with communities on gender-related issues. Noticeably, the reaction amongst community members to such initiatives is a mixed one with fears amongst certain sectors that it might erode the traditional African culture base; however there are positive signs of an impact being made.

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