Local government, traditional authorities and land tenure reform in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

This paper focuses on the issue of governance and democracy in the rural areas of South Africa, particularly the communal areas of KwaZulu-Natal, through the lens of land tenure reform, which is argued to be a crucial ingredient of the democratisation and development of the most underdeveloped regions of the country. The paper sets out to explore the relationship between local government and traditional authorities by evaluating the context of land rights in rural KwaZulu-Natal and by tracing the development of the Land Rights Bill and its perceived impact on rural communities.