Towards sustainable agriculture in post-apartheid South Africa

This paper assesses the possibility of sustainable agriculture in South Africa in the context of recent policy initiatives. The new environmental strategy for agriculture represents a significant break with policy initiatives developed during apartheid. The likelihood of sustainable farming practices being adopted in South Africa will, however, face at least three obstacles. These are the integrated structure of industrial farming, the concern over yields, and current political and economic changes in South African agriculture. It is argued that sustainable techniques are unlikely to develop in the large scale farming sector in the near future. If the considerable research and extension resources of the state are reoriented quickly enough, sustainable farming methods can be embraced by an emerging class of black commercial farmers.     

The illegal alien question in South Africa: scope,issues and policy

Of the many problems facing South Africa, perhaps one of the most important is that of the illegal alien. The scope, issues and policy implications of the illegal alien problem are examined. Different geographical streams of alien immigration are identified are profiled. Official policy responses are reviewed. The pressures for action to be taken against the rising numbers of illegal aliens in South Africa are discussed. In particular, the cost implications of illegal aliens capturing scarce resources and employment opportunities are set against other pressing demands encapsulated in the Reconstruction and Development Programme.     

The changing geography of traditional medicine: Urban herbalism on the Witwatersrand,South Africa

While medical geographers have generally ignored medical pluralism in developing countries, a small but significant geographical literature on traditional medicine has emerged. Progress for research by geographers on traditional medicine lies through a broader contextualisation of medical pluralism sensitive to the socio-economic and political context of health and disease. In this paper, a brief overview of medical pluralism in South Africa is presented. Issues surrounding the changing geography of traditional medicine are illustrated with reference to urban herbalism on the Witwatersrand.     

Source rock potential of selected Cretaceous shales,Orange Basin,South Africa

Twenty Cretaceous shale samples from two wells in the Orange Basin of South Africa were evaluated for their source rock potential. They were sampled from within a 1400 m-thick sequence in boreholes drilled through Lower to Upper Cretaceous sediments. The samples exhibit total organic carbon (TOC) content of 1.06–2.17%; Rock-Eval S2 values of 0.08–2.27 mg HC/g; and petroleum source potential (SP), which is the sum of S1 and S2, of 0.10–2.61 mg HC/g, all indicating the presence of poor to fair hydrocarbon generative potential. Hydrogen index (HI) values vary from 7 to 128 mg HC/g organic carbon and oxygen index (OI) ranges from 37 to 195 mg CO₂/g organic carbon, indicating predominantly Type III kerogen with perhaps minor amounts of Type IV kerogen. The maturity of the samples, as indicated by T _max values of 428–446°C, ranges from immature to thermally mature with respect to oil generation. Measured vitrinite reflectance values (%Ro) of representative samples indicate that these samples vary from immature to mature, consistent with the thermal alteration index (TAI) (spore colour) and fluorescence data for these samples. Organic petrographic analysis also shows that amorphous organic matter is dominant in these samples. Framboidal pyrite is abundant and may be indicative of a marine influence during deposition. Although our Rock-Eval pyrolysis data indicate that gas-prone source rocks are prevalent in this part of the Orange Basin, the geochemical characteristics of samples from an Aptian unit at 3318 m in one of the wells suggest that better quality source rocks may exist deeper, in more distal depositional parts of the basin.     

Urban land restitution in post-apartheid South Africa: Questions from the Johannesburg inner-city

In an attempt to address the racial injustices of the past,a Land Claims Court has been established in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper draws attention to the folly of compensating property owners tenants. It uses a case study of the Johannesburg inner-city suburb of Pageview to highlight the fact that Indian landlords, although forcibly segregated and themselves racially oppressed, profited from rack-renting to poor African, coloured and Indian people. Working class Indian organizations alleged that to protect this position of relative privilege, landlords opposed the provision of segregated public housing in the 1940s and 1950s. As the only individuals with legal title to Pageview property landlords now stand to gain from the land claims court while tenants are excluded from any restitution.This research is drawn from Beavon and Parnell (1991) which is a much extended unpublished version of this paper containing the full references to the primary material drawn from: Central Archive Depot (Cad); South African Transport Services Library Archive (Satsla): Intermediate Archive Depot Johannesburg (Iad), City Health Department Archive (Chda).     

Hybridity emergent: Geo-history, learning, and land restitution in South Africa

Market-Led Agrarian Reform (MLAR), which is advocated by the World Bank and is being implemented in various contexts around the world, is a more neo-liberal approach to land reform than that we have seen implemented in the past. MLAR principles have underpinned South Africa’s land reform programme, being based on the ‘willing-seller, willing-buyer’ principle, which guarantees market-related prices to sellers. Evidence presented in this paper, however, raises serious questions about the extent to which the South African government has held on to MLAR principles. Specifically, the paper argues that South Africa’s peculiar geo-historical context has in some instances led the government to fuse market-led approaches with more authoritarian interventions that dictate to land reform beneficiaries how the land will be used. A case in point is the government’s approach to the restitution of land rights to communities dispossessed from the Levubu area of Limpopo province. As the paper illustrates, the government has imposed on the intended beneficiaries a so-called ‘strategic partnership’ between them and agribusinesses. Although the government touts the approach as a way to protect the commercial viability of the land and to transfer skills from white farmers to the beneficiaries, the terms of the Levubu solution may turn out to be less than favourable for the beneficiaries.     

Corridor development in Gauteng,South Africa

The development corridor concept has been regarded as an important development instrument in spatial planning and geography for many decades. Expanding literature on the theme indicates that development centres or nodes play an important role in the establishment of such corridors. Flows of goods and information between such centres are essential in creating conditions that are potentially favourable for further urban development along the communication axes connecting such centres. Combined, the various nodes form a unique flexible exchange environment allowing for dynamic synergies of interactive growth to achieve scope economies aided by fast and reliable corridors of transport and communication infrastructure. In the South African development sphere, there is strong belief that functional relationships between nodes can play a decisive role in the establishment of development corridors. The research showed that the degree to which economic activities are concentrated in the greater Gauteng region; the resulting current or emerging multinodal structural composition; and the flows of economic activities between the various nodes result in the creation of development corridors that channel and focus economic growth between networks of cities. This confirms the importance of corridors as spatial and economic development instruments. The research concluded that the core cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria are the central driving force in corridor development in Gauteng. They feature as the most dominant nodes, exerting great forces of attraction on the distribution of development and economic growth in the region. The research also suggests a degree of polycentrism whereby economic growth is channelled between networks of cities, however development potential is most favourable in areas in close proximity to primary centres and tends to be functionality driven.     

The economic mineral potential of the mid-Proterozoic Waterberg Group, northwestern Kaapvaal craton, South Africa

The 1900–1700 Ma Waterberg Group in the main Waterberg fault-bounded basin consists of dominantly coarse siliciclastic red beds with minor volcanic rocks. The sedimentary rocks were deposited mainly by alluvial fans, fluvial braidplains and transgressive shallow marine environments, with lesser lacustrine and aeolian settings. Uplifted, largely granitic source areas were located along the Thabazimbi-Murchison lineament (TML) fault system in the south, and along the Palala shear zone in the northeast. Palaeoplacer titanomagnetite-ilmenite-zircon heavy mineral deposits, best developed in the Cleremont Formation in the centre of the basin, reflect initial fluvial reworking and subsequent littoral marine concentration. Coarse alluvial cassiterite placer deposits are found in the Gatkop area in the southwest of the basin, and appear to have been derived from stanniferous Bushveld Complex lithologies south of the TML. Hydrothermal zinc and U-Cu mineralisation in the Alma lithologies in the same area appears to be related to the TML fault system. Small manganese deposits and anomalous tungsten values occur in the south of the basin, where they are again closely spatially associated with the TML. Copper-barium mineralisation is found associated with dolerite dykes, and in stratigraphically controlled, inferred syngenetic settings. The most interesting of these apparently syngenetic occurrences is found within green coloured reduced mudrocks and inferred volcanic rocks, at an unconformity developed within the overall red bed sequence of the Waterberg Group, adjacent to the TML in the southwest of the basin. The most important potential mineralisation in the main Waterberg basin thus encompasses shoreline placer Ti and the possibility of substantial sediment-hosted copper deposits. Received: 31 May 1996 / Accepted: 17 February 1997     

Groundwater flow and radioactivity in Namaqualand, South Africa

The Namaqualand area is located in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa which is characterised by arid climate where groundwater is the only source of water supply for local communities. Extensive groundwater sampling was carried out in the area and the physico-chemical parameters, inorganic constituents, stable isotopes and trace metals were measured. The hydrochemistry of the area indicates dissimilar groundwater composition due to complex geochemical processes where groundwater flow takes place from catchment F30A to the catchment D82B, and the chemistry is controlled primarily by Redox reaction, dissolution and mixing processes. The Br^?/Cl^? ratio revealed that the salinity in the area is derived from seawater mixing, halite dissolution and atmospheric deposition/sea aerosol spray. Under excessive evaporative condition due to climatic aridity, groundwater salinity shows increasing trend. Isotope results show the presence of shallow-weathered zone and deep-fracture controlled circulating groundwater in the crystalline basement aquifer of the area. In comparison to the South African water quality standard, the results obtained for gross alpha activity which could be derived from uranium isotopes show that 41 % of the reported data in the area fall above the drinking water limit.     

Linguistic segregation in urban South Africa, 1996

South Africa is a multi-lingual country with 11 official languages and a recent history where language was frequently used as a political instrument, notably in the urban areas. Although the cities were initially colonial foundations, as a consequence of rural-urban migration, the speakers of the various national languages have come into close contact with one another. However, as a result of the inheritance of apartheid town planning and its emphasis on racial zoning, residential segregation levels between some linguistic groups have been extremely high. An analysis of the 1996 census results reveals that the uniformly high segregation levels between the speakers of indigenous African languages and the speakers of Afrikaans and English are the direct outcome of apartheid era town planning. Nevertheless, segregation between the speakers of different African languages may also on occasion be relatively high where homeland political policies were pursued, although this was the exception rather than the rule. Similarly segregation between English and Afrikaans speakers was locally high where home language coincided with former racial classification. Few immediate significant changes are anticipated in the present patterns of linguistic segregation, as the inherited apartheid city structure is proving to be remarkably resistant to transformation.     

Lessons learnt in addressing environmental issues of new water resource projects – a case study in KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Developing new water resource projects without taking cognisance of the environmental impacts, both biophysical and social, has received global condemnation for many years now and is largely becoming a practice of the past. However, it is the prominence, extent of issues addressed, timing and intensity of the investigations and the commitment to environmental protection and mitigation that has increased significantly over the past few years. Practices in South Africa are no exception to this. Environmental legislation in South Africa requires that an Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) approach be adopted when any new project is being considered. This IEM approach was recently put to the test in South Africa during the planning and implementation of an inter-basin transfer scheme in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This paper will discuss the steps that were taken to address the environmental issues during a protracted planning phase, and what was accomplished. It will compare how these recommendations were taken forward into the construction phase and the operations phase, and the lessons learnt from the process. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Neoliberalism and privatisation in South Africa

Perhaps the defining characteristic of development as a global discourse is its neoliberal character. Even recently liberated nations such as South Africa have not escaped its reach. In South Africa, there has been a movement from a development policy with a socialist resonance – the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) – to one decidedly neoliberal in form and substance – the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy. The articulation of neoliberalism through development policy is being facilitated through a series of measures among which are fiscal austerity, export oriented production and the privatisation of public sector services. While the GEAR policy, as a macroeconomic framework, is being contested by labour unions it is privatisation which is facing widespread opposition among communities. My intention is twofold, firstly, to investigate how neoliberalism as a global hegemonic discourse has succeeded in capturing, colonising and repackaging the development imaginary of the African National Congress (ANC). Secondly, I wish to examine how privatisation as a sub-discourse of neoliberalism is being articulated in the historically black township of Chatsworth, in Durban. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hunger and river basin development in Africa: Some socioeconomic issues

New concerns with African drought and famine have redirected attention to the great potential of African rivers dramatically to increase food production. The recent history of irrigation, however, has proved otherwise. This is partly due to policy makers' failure systematically to consider the socio-economics of land/water use in river basins in their development plans. This paper focuses on the socioeconomic dimensions of African river basin development and argues that a better incorporation of such systems in development plans will aid African countries more effectively to achieve their food production and development goals.     

Urban agriculture and political ecology of health in municipal Ashaiman,Ghana

This paper examines the multiple processes that shape the use of agrochemicals and wastewater irrigation in Ghanaian urban agriculture. It further explores whether and how these processes present bodily health challenges for women and men farmers. Qualitative fieldwork was conducted in Ashaiman, a municipal area located about 30 km north-east of Accra, Ghana’s capital. Methods of data collection involved in-depth interviews, focus groups and participatory risk ranking and scoring. Conceptually, the paper brings political ecologies of health into closer conversation with scholarship on embodiment and gender. Overall, the findings demonstrate how specific urban agricultural practices are socially produced, how these practices come to affect the human body, and the long-term gendered consequences. One of the contributions of the paper is to draw attention to the nature and cost of urban agriculture in Ghana, a cost not in financial or environmental sense, but in the realm of embodied experiences of exposure to agrochemicals. The paper argues that the current problem confronting urban agriculture in Ashaiman, Ghana, cannot be adequately addressed unless understood as socially produced and historically determined. Further, the health impact of urban agriculture is not only a full bodily experience, but is also gendered. In the end, a case is made as to why gendered bodies demand more critical analysis in scholarship involving political ecologies of health.     

The West Waterberg tonstein,South Africa

What is thought to be the first recorded occurrence of a tonstein in the coalfields of South Africa is described from the Volkrust Shale Formation of the Permain Karoo Sequence in the West Waterberg Coalfield. Now, virtually pure kaolin, petrological, mineralogical and geochemical evidence points to its origin being an airfall tuff of acid composition. The concentrations of Ba, Sr, and Pb in the tonstein are unusually high. It is thought the elements were released from the ash and precipitated as phosphates of mixed composition. The phosphate distribution is not uniform and is apparently related to the fragmental texture of the rock.     

南非Postmasburg锰矿田白云岩的控矿作用

Bishop、Paling两个矿区位于南非Postmasburg锰矿田的西矿带上,这一地区发育了典型的沉积-变质型矿床。在岩性序列中识别出了6个岩性单元,自下而上分别为:白云岩单元、铁锰矿体单元、铁质细砂岩/铁质砾岩单元、泥质粉砂岩单元、石英岩单元和页岩单元,其中白云岩单元构成了矿床发育的基底。白云岩有两种类型,分别为富锰白云岩及上覆的藻白云岩,它们是岩溶系统形成的基础。岩溶系统中的大量溶坑是沉积序列的主要赋存空间。原生矿体的形态、规模和发育位置均受溶坑的控制,侧向延伸不连续。锰土是富锰白云岩的风化残余物,被矿体底部的富锰矿石不整合覆盖。侧部的富铁矿石则直接覆盖在藻白云岩之上。堆积型矿体多分布于白云岩斜坡的边缘。将矿田的发育过程划分为三个时期,其中第一时期形成的N-S向溶蚀洼地为铁、锰的赋存奠定了基础;第三时期岩溶作用再次发生,原生矿体侧部坍塌,矿石在斜坡上富集形成堆积型矿体。     

Regenerating rural economies: The case of Limehill, South Africa

The issue of the quality of life of rural South Africans has become a key focus of attention of the national and provincial governments in postapartheid South Africa. This focus stems from legislation that enshrines concurrent responsibility for rural development to both these spheres of government. However, post-1995 legislation including the introduction of wall-to-wall municipal authorities and the subsequent initiatives by municipalities to assume responsibility for service delivery in their areas have infused considerable complexity into the development landscape at the local level. Within this context and against the background of different perspectives and strategies for rural development, this paper examines, in a case study of the Limehill Complex within the Ndaka Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, the specific development problems that the `deep' rural communities experience. The paper then discusses strategic interventions that the Ndaka Municipality, in conjunction with other role players and the different spheres of government, needs to consider for implementation in order to regenerate the rural economy of the Limehill Complex and assist in the alleviation of widespread poverty in the area. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.