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LAND GOVERNANCE

The Land Governance programme works to support the realisation of tenure security by most South Africa’s marginalised people in rural and urban areas. These include victims of apartheid dispossession and discrimination, women, farm workers, labour tenants and people who hold off- register land rights in the country. The programme also supports decentralised government to unlock land in ways that support just transition in the country.

The programme deploys diverse strategies which include supporting legal and institutional arrangements, efforts by civil society and community-based organisations, policy engagement, lobbying policy makers, generating empirical evidence to inform policy making and advocacy work, capacity development and contributing to thought leadership through scientific debates, research and publications.

 

Lead: Dr Gaynor Paradza, gaynorp@pari.org.za

Researchers: Jabu Hlatshwayo

LandNewsPublic Policy
March 6, 2025

Land Governance programme collaborates with SALGA to support just transition

Image: KwaZulu-Natal/Simon Hull/November 2024   On  5 March, Land Governance Programme Lead Gaynor Paradza participated in the  SALGA National Working Group on Development Planning and Rural Development. Dr Paradza shared…
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ConferencesLandNews
March 6, 2025

PARI researchers at Cardiff University

Dr Gaynor Paradza and Murial Kwena, from PARI's Land Governance programme, are attending the 19th annual International Academic Association on Planning Law and Property Rights (PLPR) at Cardiff University, Wales…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublic PolicyPublications
January 27, 2025

Policy brief | Proposals to Policymakers to Transform Land Administration and Secure Tenure for Unregistered Land Rights in South Africa

In the first policy brief in this series, we outlined the problem of off-register rights in South Africa and the challenge of finding appropriate ways of bridging the gap between…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublic PolicyPublications
January 24, 2025

Policy brief | Enhancing Security of Tenure through Land Administration

In the first policy brief, we outlined the problem of off-register rights in South Africa and the challenge of finding appropriate ways to bridge the gap between the recordal and…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublic PolicyPublications
November 25, 2024

Policy brief | Review of Traditional Authority Customary Land Management Practices in Limpopo Province of South Africa

This policy brief explores the municipal–traditional authority nexus through the lens of land development applications. By focusing on how traditional authorities handle land applications, the brief provides an insight into…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublic PolicyPublications
November 25, 2024

Policy brief | What are the challenges of incorporating the diverse land rights of the majority of South Africans into the existing formal land registration system?

The apartheid legacy of imposing an exclusive private property regime, thereby rendering indigenous forms of tenure invisible, continues to contribute to the high levels of poverty on the continent, and…
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LandPublicationstraditional leadersWorking Papers
November 7, 2024

Working Paper | Reflections on the Role of Traditional Authorities in Land Governance in 21st Century South Africa

By Joel Pearson This working paper offers a survey of recent South African literature on the role of the chieftaincy in issues of land administration and governance. It does so…
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HR & VacanciesLandNews
August 7, 2024

Vacancy | Researcher in the Land Governance programme

Image: Photo 16543980 © Maeroris | Dreamstime.com Advertisement RESEARCHER   Closing date for applications: 31 August 2024   The Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) is seeking to appoint a suitable…
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LandMultimediaNewsSA Politics
May 23, 2024

Listen | Who is Voting in 2024? | South Africa: democracy and the promise of redistribution

The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy (Geneva Graduate Institute) is running a podcast series entitled Who is voting in 2024? This episode on South Africa looks at the South African…
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Journal ArticlesLandPublications
February 26, 2024

Special Issue | Current research and opinion on land governance for societal development in and on the Global South

Lead of PARI's Land Governance programme, Gaynor Paradza, co-edited this Special Issue of Land Use Policy with Uchendu Eugene Chigbu, Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa and Michael Klaus. Titled Current research and…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublications
February 26, 2024

Comments on the Draft White Paper for Human Settlements 2023

Human settlements are a critical component of rural and urban development. The importance of access to adequate housing is enshrined in Section 26 of the Constitution. While the various housing…
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LandLocal GovtPolicy briefs and resourcesPublications
November 28, 2023

Policy brief | Why indigenous land tenure security is a condition for indigenous community engagement

By Gaynor Paradza and Jabu Hlatshwayo ABSTRACT Secure land tenure is a precondition to beneficial land occupation. Tenure security enables land holders to derive benefit from their land. Although they…
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LandPublications
June 30, 2023

Intern | Open Letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth

PARI's intern, Jabu Hlatshwayo, appeals to the President to prioritise land reform and the youth. Open letter to the President from a Disillusioned Youth Dear President Ramaphosa Greetings, Mr. President.…
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LandPublicationsReports
January 25, 2023

Report | Land Governance in Ekurhuleni Municipality

A new report from the Land Governance programme by Simbarashe Nyuke, Gaynor Paradza and Noluvuyo Mjoli. The land question is a volatile issue in South Africa as land redistribution goals…
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LandPublicationsReports
January 25, 2023

Report | Land Use and Management in Lephalale Local Municipality

This research report focuses on land administration in Lephalale Local Municipality where the effects of the construction of Medupi power station have revealed how institutional dynamics in local government (in…
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LandPublicationsReports
January 25, 2023

Report | Engcobo: The Confluence of the State, Local Municipality and Traditional Authority in Land Governance

This report examines land governance in Engcobo and shows how negotiation and compromise characterise the relationship between the municipality and traditional authorities. It reveals how local governance is shaped and…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublications
November 9, 2022

Guidelines for the Development of Curricula on Land Governance in Africa

Dr Gaynor Paradza was one of the drafters in a select team of African experts drawn mainly from universities and institutions of higher learning. The Guidelines for the Development of…
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ConferencesLandNews
August 17, 2022

Gaynor Paradza gives keynote address at University of Ghana

Senior Researcher Gaynor Paradza leads PARI's Land Governance programme. She is in Accra on 17 August to give a keynote address at the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa…
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LandLocal GovtNewsOp EdPublicationstraditional leaders
May 25, 2022

Op Ed | KZN Floods: The dangerous cocktail of traditional authorities and local government

Photo 57214329 © | Dreamstime.com By Mbongiseni Buthelezi Traditional leaders assign land giving little consideration to spatial planning for long-term, sustainable settlement. People are settled in places unsuitable for human…
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LandNews
March 24, 2022

Webinar | Celebrating Women in the Land Sector

On 24 March 2022, PARI's Land Programme Lead, Gaynor Paradza, participated in a webinar titled Women's Land Rights: Celebrating the Role of Women in the Land Sector: Reflecting on Experience,…
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BooksLandPublications
December 6, 2021

Chapter | Women and Land Inheritance Under Legal Pluralism in Lesotho

'Land inheritance is an important process through which women negotiate access to the resource. Legal pluralism renders land inheritance a complex process for those who rely on inheritance as a…
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LandPolicy briefs and resourcesPublicationsReports
October 5, 2021

Towards an Integrated Land Administration System

Gaynor Paradza, Lead of the Land Governance programme at PARI, has collaborated with PLAAS and SALGA to produce this diagnostic document, which lays a foundation for creating cohesion in South…
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LandMultimediaNewswebinars
September 30, 2021

WATCH | A Just Recovery After Covid-19 and Looting

This PLAAS webinar on 30 September 2021, facilitated by Mbongiseni Buthelezi, aimed to reframe the post-Covid and post-unrest ‘recovery’ discourse to foreground the danger of entrenched corporate power in the…
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LandMultimediaNewswebinars
September 30, 2021

WATCH | State Reform and Traditional Leadership

On 29 September 2021, Mbongiseni Buthelezi presented an input into the Rebuild SA webinar, the first instalment in a series by GCRO and MISTRA. Dr Buthelezi spoke on State Reform…
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Journal ArticlesLandPublications
June 7, 2021

Land | Could Mapping Initiatives Catalyze the Interpretation of Customary Land Rights in Ways that Secure Women’s Land Rights?

By Gaynor Paradza, Lebogang Mokwena and Walter Musakwa   Abstract Although land forms the basis for marginal livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa, the asset is more strategic for women as they…
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Journal ArticlesLandPublications
June 7, 2021

Land | Partnerships and Stakeholder Participation in the Management of National Parks: Experiences of the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe

By Walter Musakwa, Trynos Gumbo, Gaynor Paradza, Ephraim Mpofu, Nesisa Analisa Nyathi and Ntlakala B. Selamolela   Abstract National parks play an important role in maintaining natural ecosystems which are…
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LandNews
June 7, 2021

PARI joins the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa

NELGA is the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa. The NUST NELGA node currently has over 30 academic partner institutions in 12 southern African countries, making it the…
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LandOp EdPublications
November 30, 2020

Op Ed | Every Zimbabwean Deserves Secure Land Rights

by Gaynor Paradza In 2019, Zimbabwe embarked on a long-awaited land policymaking process. The Land Policy's emphasis on gender sensitivity echoes global recognition and acknowledgement of the strategic importance of…
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LandOp EdPublications
October 15, 2020

Op ed | A New Part for the Course

By Federica Duca   Recent news of the redevelopment of the River Club in Cape Town, and a furore about the lease renewal of the Rondebosch golf course in the…
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EventsLandMultimediaUncategorizedwebinars
September 18, 2020

WATCH | Land Policy-Making in SA Webinar

Towards Coherent Land Policy-Making in SA: insights and Lessons was the first webinar held by PARI's Land Governance Programme. The webinar, on 16 September 2020, featured dynamic inputs from land…
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LandMultimediaNewsvideoswebinars
September 7, 2020

Webinar | Towards Coherent Land Policy-Making in SA: Insights and Lessons

Achieving coherence in land governance remains a challenge in South Africa. Attempts to  reconcile diverse claims involve trade-offs and compromises. South Africa finds itself locked in these policy processes to…
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blogLandNews
August 24, 2020

Open Letter to the President | We are not ‘in this together’

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT: WE ARE NOT 'IN THIS TOGETHER’, POOR WOMEN NEED LAND JUSTICE! Dear President Ramaphosa, We appreciate your efforts in trying to curb the rampant spread…
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LandMultimediaNewsSeminarswebinars
July 28, 2020

Webinar | Land Reform and the Art of Government: The role and capacity of the state

Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi will be participating in this webinar, organised by PLAAS at the University of the Western Cape, on government roles and capacities in land reform. Watch the public…
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EventsLandNews
March 15, 2020

Postponed | Joburg Urban Governance Dialogue

Following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa declaring Covid-19 a national disaster, please be advised that this event has been postponed. We will be in communication during this week about…
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ConferencesLandNews
November 28, 2019

Retreat and Belonging in Upper Class Gated Communities

Dr Federica Duca presented at a conference at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, titled Breaking down the nation-state: retreat and belonging in upper class gated communities in Johannesburg.…
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FeaturedLandNews
July 30, 2019

The Politics Of Leisure And Exclusion: Critical perspectives on golf

On 25 July, Dr Federica Duca gave a lecture to University of Johannesburg's third-year Architecture students (UJ FADA). The title of the lecture was The Politics of Leisure and Exclusion:…
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LandMultimediaNewstraditional leaders
May 30, 2019

Listen | Mbongiseni Buthelezi on Traditional Leadership and Democracy

The evolution of traditional leadership and its impact post-democracy THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED HERE   We have seen a number of stories around developments in various royal households in…
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LandNewsSeminars
May 6, 2019

Is Leisure Innocent?: Reflections from Golf Courses

Senior Researcher Dr Federica Duca participates in the Wiser/UMichigan Mellon collaborative seminar titled Spatial Typologies and the Built Environment: Navigating African Urban Landscapes. Dr Duca will talk on Monday, 6…
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BooksFeaturedLandMultimediaPublications
April 20, 2019

Watch | Traditional Leaders in a Democracy Interview with Mbongiseni Buthelezi

Mbongiseni Buthelezi speaks about unaccountable leaders and apartheid legacies in an interview about the book, on which he is one of the editors, "Traditional Leaders in a Democracy: Resources, Respect…
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ConferencesLandNews
April 12, 2019

Federica Duca on Wealth Inequality

The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies recently held a symposium on understanding inequality in the global South. The pre-conference event on 9 April 2019 featured a presentation by Dr Federica…
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BooksFeaturedLandPublications
February 28, 2019

Traditional Leaders in a Democracy

Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi is one of the three editors on the book launched by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) on 28 February 2019.   Published by Jacana Media,…
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Academic ProgrammeEventsFeaturedLandNewsSeminars
November 7, 2018

Workshop and Exhibition | Gated Communities and Townhouse Complexes

Gated Communities & Townhouse Complexes Workshop and Exhibition   In collaboration with IFAS (French Institute of South Africa) and LAVUE (Université Paris, Nanterre), PARI co-hosts a workshop on 14 November…
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EventsLandNews
October 1, 2018

Federica Duca on gated communities | Paris

Federica Duca was in Paris on 28 September, attending a seminar on gated communities. This half-day workshop took place at Nanterre University to reflect on the evolutions of urbanism in…
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BooksLandNewsPublications
March 13, 2018

Chapter | The Salience of Chiefs in Post Apartheid South Africa

Recently published is Mbongiseni Buthelezi's co-authored chapter on chieftancy in contemporary South Africa, in: Comaroff, J.L. and J. Comaroff. eds., 2018. The Politics of Custom: Chiefship, Capital and the State…
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ConferencesLandNews
September 18, 2017

Rethinking Urban Global Justice

From September 11-13, Federica Duca attended the RC21 Conference in Leeds, titled Rethinking Urban Global Justice: An international academic conference for critical urban studies. Duca convened a roundtable “Elites and…
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EventsLandNews
September 4, 2017

Urban Anxieties in the Global South

On 16 August, senior researcher Federica Duca gave a talk at Urban Anxieties in the Global South, a project by Wits Media Studies and WiSER. Federica’s talk titled, “Macabre and…
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EventsLandNewsSeminars
August 21, 2017

GCRO Brown Bag: Regimes of Urban Public Goods

PARI and GCRO invite you to a brown bag presentation by Benjamin Bradlow Regimes of Urban Public Goods Distribution: Governing Johannesburg, 1990-2016 Date: 30 August 2017 Time: 13.00-14.00 Venue: GCRO,…
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LandPublicationsReports
August 15, 2012

Living Together, Separately in the New South Africa: The Case of Integrated Housing in Mohale City and Lehae Project

Over the past few years, there had been demands from applicants for the Department of Human Settlements (Housing) to make RDP houses available to all race groups. This had seen…
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EssaysLandPublications
June 15, 2012

Middle classing in Roodepoort: capitalism and social change in South Africa

This essay explores social change in South Africa since the end of apartheid by considering the kinds of communities that are emerging in the new townhouse developments on the western…
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