The large areas of abandoned arable fields in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are often interpreted as evidence that rural people are no longer interested in farming and largely rely on off-farm sources of income for their survival. However, this case study of land-use practices in one village shows that farmers in the Transkeian coastal belt have not abandoned cultivation, but have shifted from the extensive cultivation of maize in distant fields to the intensive intercropping of maize and other food crops in fenced gardens adjacent to homesteads. Studies of yields from fields and gardens indicate that this has been an effective intensification strategy adopted by rural households to maintain yields in the face of shrinking resources and increasing risks. Evidence of changing land-use practices is presented and the reasons for these changes identified and evaluated.
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The official result of Lesotho's general election of 1998, which saw a 79 out
of 80 seat victory for the ruling Lesotho Congress of Democrats (LCD), was
repudiated by the opposition, notably the former ruling Basotho National
Party (BNP) and the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP). These latter parties
were historic enemies but forged an alliance of convenience to contest the
outcome of the election. By mobilising their supporters to occupy Maseru they
successfully paralysed the capacity of the LCD to govern. After diplomatic
preliminaries, this led to military intervention by South Africa and Botswana
in September 1998 and their brokering of an agreement which restored the
LCD to power, on the condition that a new election would be held within
eighteen months, with the rules for that contest being discussed between the
parties in the interim. That election has now been scheduled for April 2000.The article reviews the conduct and result of the general election of 1998.
It concludes that the opposition's objections were largely spurious, but notes
that the unbalanced nature of the LCD's victory – a product of the first-past-the-post electoral system – was a major cause of the wider crisis. It therefore
proposes that any lasting settlement of political differences in Lesotho is going
to require a new electoral system which will allow for a more inclusive
outcome.
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