A Critical Reflection on the Formalisation of Communal Land Rights in Namibia: Why Local Contexts Matter for Bridging the Dichotomies of Tenure Rights
A CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE FORMALISATION OF COMMUNAL LAND RIGHTS IN NAMIBIA: WHY LOCAL CONTEXTS MATTER FOR BRIDGING THE DICHOTOMIES OF TENURE RIGHTS by ELKE ASTRID MATTHAEI (MPhil) Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Ronnie Donaldson December 2018 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ii DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Copyright © 2018 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za iii SUMMARY Struggles over access to, and control of, land have a long history in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since precolonial times, land has material and symbolic significance, with rights to land having been exchanged, negotiated and fought over in the course of political, demographic and economic change. Based on the belief that access to land and the registration thereof leads to prosperity, land reforms have gained prominence on national and international development agendas in recent decades. It is estimated that more than 428 million rural poor depend on access to customary land in Sub-Saharan Africa. Secure property rights, economists and policymakers hope, will increase access to credits and allow reinvestment and upkeep of resources. Several international conventions and declarations underscore the importance of land rights for sustainable rural and urban development.
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