An investigation into the impact of land restitution on sustainable rural livelihoods in North West Province : a case study of Molote village (Eastern district)

Abstract

Through the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 22 of 1994, the first democratically elected government returned land to various communities which lost land because of discriminatory Apartheid land policies. One previously dispossessed community to benefit from such land restitution policy was the Baku bung ba Ratheo of Molote village situated near Magaliesburg. When their land was returned to them, the Bakubung were living in conditions that were below the poverty line. To redress this situation, government through its integrated rural development approach instituted specific projects designed to assist the community to be engaged in agricultural activities in order to have self sustaining livelihoods. Despite some shortcomings such as unequal participation in the communal projects, initial outcomes showed that the community was on its way to realizing the objective of farming. This could be achieved through efforts that ensure long-term sustainability of communities such as Bakubung.