INPUT FROM THE SOUTHERN CAPE LAND COMMITTEE (SCLC) TO THE PARLIAMENTARY REGIONAL DEBATE PUBLIC SESSION 16 SEPTEMBER 2004 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTHERN CAPE REGION
In our region, the Southern Cape, land is fast becoming unaffordable to ordinary South Africans. There is ongoing sale and development of land including numerous golf estates, huge polo fields, holiday complexes and still more being planned or erected daily. Much of the development is owned by outside, often foreign, investors who seem to have the greatest say in how and to whose benefit developments in the Garden Route will be. During the world acclaimed President’s Cup Golf Tournament, held at a golf estate in George last year, the media reported on huge profits being made by estate agents (Business Day). One can only but imagine how much of our valuable and precious land was sold to generate this profit. Yet, one of the neighbours to the golf resort which hosted the tournament, Mr Dambuza, continues to have his cattle impounded and becomes daily poorer as, even though he qualifies for a DLA grant, there is no affordable land to purchase or lease for grazing purposes. In the same suburb of Blanco local people live in overcrowded townships, sharing homes with friends and family due to the long waiting lists and unavailability of land for housing and farm dwellers cannot access land for long-term settlements.
2. AFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT ON LAND REFORM
This rampant development of the Southern Cape is having very negative effects on land reform in the region, the most obvious being the rocketing price of land, which has more than trebled over the past 5 years. Thus market-based land reform becomes almost impossible. Poor, landless farmers and communities are competing with rich investors for the same land at the same prices. The LRAD grants of the Dept of Land Affairs are inadequate forcing land reform beneficiaries to form large, unwieldy groups or access unaffordable loans from the Land Bank.
Linked to the high value of land is the increasing difficulty which emergent farmers experience in accessing municipal commonage or other privately owned land for lease purposes. Local authorities and landowners are aware that land is an ever-increasing asset to be used to generate income, often at the expense of livelihoods. In the Southern Cape there are numerous emergent farmer groups (according to research undertaken by SCLC on behalf of the DoA at the beginning of this year there are at least 48 organised groups of emergent farmers in the Southern Cape) with their primary challenge being access to land. There is a growing trend to impound livestock. Livestock impounded in George is taken to the pound in Mossel Bay, thus poor farmers are forced to pay for transport to Mossel Bay, a fine to release their livestock and transport for the animals back to George. This is often absolutely unaffordable and thus people loose their animals and poverty levels increase. (one farmer has had his herd of cattle reduced from 22 to 8!).
Restitution claimants are also negatively affected by the ongoing and unchecked developments. In Great Brak land under claim has been earmarked for development into a Tuscany Village holiday complex. According to media articles published by the developer, on the first day of advertising the development 100 plots were sold at a value of between R300 000 and R350 000 each. So a community who were dispossessed of their land and impoverished through forced removals through apartheid legislation are now faced with a new form of dispossession – sale and development of land for the recreational use of the wealthy few at the expense of the livelihoods of the poor. The claimants of Kraaibos also seek restoration of their land or alternative land but are frustrated as to the unavailability of land in the area.
A further spin-off of the ongoing developments is the effect this has on communities living on state land. The policy of privatisation of the railway system and the forestry industry is one aspect. Throughout the Southern Cape there are forestry and Spoornet communities whose employment, tenure security and community culture is under threat. Entire communities are facing relocation into urban townships where, as we are all aware, there are few employment opportunities, high levels of crime and less opportunities for food security then in rural settlements. The concern of local authorities in this regard is often the high cost of service provision to rural settlements, however it is difficult to justify loosing access to land and natural resources in exchange for a flush toilet. This needs further exploration, are we not continuing to maintain patterns of spatial apartheid planning in order to preserve our land for further big developments?
Communities living in informal settlements on prime municipal land are also adversely affected by the developments. These communities, in particular the Wilderness Heights, Power Town and Kleinkrantz communities, are predominately evicted farm dwellers who have erected informal homes on municipal land or land belonging to other state departments. Some, such as the Wilderness Heights community, have secured the support of the appropriate state department (Dept of Public Works) who own the land and are willing to transfer the same to the relevant local authority for the purposes of low cost housing. Ongoing negotiations with the George municipality, broken promises and delays have resulted in frustration and disappointment. The Power Town community resides on land belonging to the Mossel Bay Municipality. The community consists of around 100 households who have been living on this land for the past 10 years. Most community members are employed in the region and have established tight community ties. The community accessed a DLA grant 5 years ago but were unable to find a "willing buyer". Numerous options have been presented to the municipality with no success – a rare grasshopper on one piece of land, under the 50 year flood line on the next and so it goes. Yet again this community is threatened with relocation into urban townships, far out of sight leaving the valuable land in the region where they now reside available for further development. The George and Mossel Bay Municipality appear unwilling to support these rural settlements, pushing rather for relocation to townships. It seems the land is just too valuable and the surrounding ratepayers too vocal.
Perhaps the most vulnerable group who stand to loose employment, tenure security, rural lifestyles and any livestock or small-scale agriculture they presently own is farm dwellers. Farm dweller’s lifestyles and skills are generally not considered congruent with large-scale developments. People are offered a small RDP house in an urban township and sometimes the promise of a cash donation in exchange for their homes and jobs (for example 5 households who had lived on the land for many years were moved from the site of the proposed Lakes Eco Golf Estate). In our experience relocation into a township has extremely destructive effects on rural people’s lifestyles leaving them poorer, further marginalised, without community ties and often susceptible to alcoholism and other social challenges. One such community are the Geelhoutboom farm dwellers who despite securing a donation of 10 hectares of land towards a long term settlement with secure tenure and small-scale agriculture are unable to proceed with their plans as the local authority will not grant permission for the go ahead. It is now mooted in numerous press articles that a golf estate is being planned for this land, again it would appear that livelihoods and land for the poor are not a priority compared to development.
3. AFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT ON PEOPLE’S "SENSE OF SPACE"
More and more residents of the Southern Cape are feeling powerless as daily our control over the region is further removed from us. No longer can the fisher folk of Knysna supplement their food with fish caught from Thesen Island, the local residents of Mossel Bay and surrounds are having their affordable holidays at Dias beach threatened and the residents of Pacaltsdorp fear that they will loose their access to the beach as well as opportunities to use surrounding land for agriculture as yet another 2 golf estates, the Le Grand and Greg Norman estates, begin to be developed. Cultural heritage, community values and livelihoods are being drastically changed through large developments.
These developments do not address the skewed patterns of land ownership. Rather they maintain the current trend whereby the minority has access to and ownership of the majority of the land, natural resources and wealth. It is obvious that golf estates (still the most rapidly growing developments in the Southern Cape) are by nature exclusive cutting people’s access to the coast, agricultural land and recreational sights off. The developments continue to be planned and owned by wealthy investors removing control from the local people.
The supposed "trickle down" benefits of investment clearly do not trickle far enough – South Africa is now officially recognised as being the country with the greatest disparity between the rich and poor, and nowhere is it more apparent than in the Southern Cape. We have the richest of the rich (even by international standards) and the poorest of the poor in competition over land and natural resources. It is not enough to promise jobs in exchange for using land and natural resources to support exclusive and unsustainable lifestyles while maintaining the status quo.
Local people are beginning to question the environmental benefits of "eco" developments, these have yet to be proved. It appears that large, monied developers are able to provide any evidence in support of their plans while it is ironic that poor communities are often considered a threat to environmental sustainability.
Nor are we soothed by the promised social investment of developers which maintains the skewed power relationships and unequal access to and control over land and natural resources. Providing low cost housing in an urban development will not feed or sustain people nor will it lead to transformation.
We would suggest that an immediate moratorium be placed on all further developments for speculative purposes in the Southern Cape. Let us take stock before it is too late and our land is swallowed up. We can then make informed and sustainable decisions.
Let us call a stop to further developments while we thoroughly research:
Let us ensure that the Southern Cape is able to continue sustaining her residents. Let us work to equitable access to land and natural resources. Let us control and transform developments to the benefit of all.
The Southern Cape Land Committee (SCLC)
September 2004