Prof Lungisile Ntsebeza on Cecil John Rhodes.

Lungisile Ntsebeza on Cecil John Rhodes(23 April) and the Mpondo Revolt (24 April)

Christopher Merrett reviews 'The Promise of Land'

The Promise of Land

by Christopher Merrett, The Witness

A STRUGGLE for land has been central to the history of South Africa, complicated by the fact that to the protagonists it represented very different world views.

The recent centenary of the Natives’ Land Act was a reminder that land was a cornerstone of white domination, a reason why Fred Hendricks argues in The Promise of Land that its reform is a “barrier to a unitary imagination of the South Africa nation”.

Instead, a revolution is required to complete the process of decolonisation and creation of a national identity. Twenty years after liberation, democracy, social justice and the symbolism of restitution should have made the country look very different, he suggests.

Democracy Compromised: Chiefs and the politics of land in South Africa

by Lungisile Ntsebeza

Democracy Compromised

Democracy Compromised puts the spotlight on traditional authorities and addresses two main issues: first, how despite their role in the apartheid state, traditional authorities not only survived, but have won unprecedented powers of rural governance in South Africa’s democracy, and second, how they derive their authority. In this original and compelling study, Lungisile Ntsebeza carefully details the fascinating history of the chieftaincy in the Xhalanga area of the Eastern Cape.

He shows how traditional authorities have been dependent on the support of the state since the advent of colonialism and how deeply traditional structures have been contested. Light is shed on the unexpected renaissance of these authorities under ANC rule and the role of traditional leaders in the process of land allocation is clearly explained. Written by one of the leading scholars on the South African land reform programme and democratisation in rural South Africa, this book will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, students, activists and policy makers.