Socio-economic effects of farm evictions : a case of the Mogale City Local Municipality, Gauteng Province

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the socio-economic effects of farm evictions in Mogale City Local Municipality, Gauteng Province. Most of the land owners do not adhere to the legislations which govern evictions in general and to the Extension of Security of Tenure Act which governs farm eviction on specific. The key objectives of the study were to identify the socio-economic effects of farm evictions and to analyse how the affected communities responded to the phenomenon of evictions. The key questions were what are the socio-economic effects do eviction have on farm dwellers and how have the affected communities responded to the phenomenon of eviction. The literature revealed that evictions around the world started decades ago and to date are still happening. In Zimbabwe, evictions were initiated by white farmers as a way of redressing the imbalance of the land ownership; in China evictions are mainly caused by rapid population growth and expansion of cities, in Namibia, Germans expropriated land and forcefully removed original owners of such land. Since independence, Namibia has no legislation governing evictions and this pose a thread of tenure insecurity. Although South Africa has legislations which govern the evictions, evictions are still taking place and mostly initiated by white land owners. The quantitative survey study was conducted to determine the distribution of socio-economic variables before and after the eviction. The primary data was collected, using semi-structured questionnaires which the interviewer administered to the evicted households. The findings revealed that electricity supply, garbage collection, personal care, household income, access to health facilities are negatively affected and the condition of the households deteriorated after the eviction. The main recommendation on the basis of the findings is that the MCLM, DRDLR and NDHS should adhere to the principles outlined in the article 25(1) of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. This would reduce the negative impact of evictions.