Municipal commonage and implications for land reform: A profile of commonage users in Philippolis, Free State, South Africa

Use and users of municipal commonage around three small towns in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

“…These new urban residents frequently live in severe poverty (Nel, 2005;Thornton, 2008). However, many have some agricultural skills and thus attempt, or aspire, to farm on municipal commonage to maintain their livelihoods and contribute to their increased need for cash by virtue of now residing in an urban area (Atkinson, 2005(Atkinson, , 2007aAtkinson and Buscher, 2006). This will inevitably lead to an increase in demand for municipal commonage for agricultural purposes.…”

“…a livestock owners association) (Lebert, 2004;Atkinson and Buscher, 2006;Davenport and Gambiza, 2009). In terms of this measure, it is only a very small minority of urban households who therefore make use of commonage.…”

“…This land was granted to municipalities at the time of the formal establishment of towns during the 1800s (Anderson and Pienaar, 2004). In the colonial and apartheid past, commonages were granted to white residents for keeping livestock; this enhanced their livelihoods through benefits such as meat, milk and draught power (Atkinson, 2005;Atkinson and Buscher, 2006;Atkinson, 2007a). However, from the 1950s onwards municipalities moved away from the 'local resident' system due to a lack of interest in small-scale agriculture by the white urban sector (Atkinson and Benseler, 2004).…”

“…This benefited the municipalities because it allowed them to make an income from their commonages (Benseler, 2003). However, in 1996 municipalities started terminating their leases with commercial farmers, because the new democratic government needed land for the poor (Atkinson and Buscher, 2006).…”

Local Economic Development in Small Towns, Housing Delivery and Impact on the Environment. Forum proceedings.

“…There are several arguments for commonage making a useful contribution to urban livelihoods (Atkinson and Buscher, 2006). Firstly, commonage land is often the only natural resource available for poor urban communities, particularly in land-locked areas without access to fisheries.…”