Views on Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa

Proceedings of an African Migration Alliance Workshop

Aligned to the principle that development needs to start with what people know and build on their knowledge and experiences, the authors of this paper provide some examples of how important indigenous or local knowledge is to its users, different ways in which they use this knowledge, and the potential that indigenous knowledge has in some areas of agricultural development.

More and more of global economic wealth and decision-making power rests with fewer and fewer people, while acute socio-economic inequities continue to afflict large rural communities in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Land inequalities remain a burning question for rural communities.

Land issues and conflicts occur all over, all the time on the African continent and continue to mushroom on a continuous basis. Although many of these issues are not new, they do continue to change and are extremely complex and embedded, which may lead to the inability to deal with them and to questioning the legitimacy of the forms of intervention and prevention of conflicts. The way in which these issues are dealt with often does not take into consideration their major - and thus potentially recurring - causes. The Struggle over Land in Africa: Conflicts, Politics and Change is a compelling book which analyses the role of land as a place and source of conflict, especially with regard to policy development, crisis management and post-war/post-conflict reconstruction. The authors main aim is to gain insight into the nature of policy-making concerning land and to delve into the underlying causes of these land issues, not only at national level but also in terms of broader Africa. The book covers land issues in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, northern Cameroon, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Some of the themes explored in this powerful volume include: Ethnic and indigenous land conflicts, Traditionalism versus modernity, renewed land interests, land use and conflict, state building, politics and land (for example Agricultural land reform); land policy development, planning, inclusiveness/non-inclusiveness; regional scopes of land conflicts and changing norms.

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 Africas 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.