The Copyright of This Thesis Vests in the Author. No

The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University PRIVATE GAME FARMS AND THE TENURE SECURITY OF FARM WORKERS AND DWELLERS IN CRADOCK – IMPLICATIONS FOR TENURE REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA Town Cape NALEDI NOMALANGAof MKHIZE STUDENT NUMBER: MKHNAL003 University Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town November 2012 PLAGIARISM DECLARATION I declare this to be my own original work. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this thesis taken from the work, or works of other people has been attributed. I acknowledge that copying someone else‟s work, or part of it, is wrong. Town _______________________________________ Cape NALEDI NOMALANGA MKHIZE of November 2012 University i ABSTRACT This study situates itself within the broader field of agrarian and land reform scholarship. It investigates the consequences that farm conversions to game farming have had for the tenure security of farm workers and -dwellers in Cradock, Eastern Cape. At the heart of the thesis is the extreme land question of the semi-arid areas. At the empirical level, the thesis situates the Cradock farm conversion trend within the land conquest and labour histories of the semi-arid areas. It argues that land and labour histories of different regions will inform the manner in which farm workers and -dwellers are affected by, and respond to, farm conversions. The thesis contends that in context of an extreme land question in the semi-arid areas that renders farm workers and -dwellers structurally tenure insecure, game farms cannot be „blamed‟ Townfor associated displacements. Indeed, it suggests that the link between game farms and tenure insecurity should be seen as correlative rather than causal. Cape The research was conducted in Cradock between April 2009 and February 2010. Core data were gathered through interviews with farmof workers and -dwellers whose families were affected by farm conversions or had worked on game farms in the area. The thesis demonstrates that farm workers and -dwellers in the semi-arid areas are prone to migrating on and off -farms and, indeed, that there has been a steady rural efflux from these areas since the turn of the 20th century. These movements by farm workers and -dwellers, where they are by choice, are a strategy to mitigate against ever-present possibilities of losing one‟s home if relationsUniversity with farmers go wrong. Farm workers and -dwellers in semi-arid districts in South Africa are faced with multiple dilemmas and structural constraints with regard to how to earn the best possible living and secure supplementary livelihoods, whilst accessing a permanent home for themselves. As such, farm workers and -dwellers do not attach their social identities and practices to specific farms. It is, however, argued that farm workers and -dwellers in the semi-arid areas do express an attachment to a „farm way of life‟, and in this way lay claim to the rural universe. At a broader conceptual level, this thesis situates itself within debates on the nature of contemporary land and agrarian questions. Questions raised by Bernstein (2003, 2007), ii Moyo (2005, 2008) and Hendricks (1995) on the place of the dispossessed within the rural economy are best viewed not in opposition, but in relation to each other. In this regard, the tenure security issue is about housing need, land access and proximity to urban centres. Ultimately, literature on the land question has failed to grapple with the complexity of these multiple dilemmas faced by farm workers and -dwellers and failed to come to grips with the economic constraints of an agricultural sector that is more and more bound up in global chains of exchange. This thesis concludes that the language of „proletarianisation‟ or „peasantisation‟ has little conceptual utility when it comes to grappling with the urbanising, yet increasingly jobless, rural farming areas. Land reform, and specifically tenure security reform, needs to work, in the main, with two broad categories – „land users‟ and „land seekers‟ – and differentiate the extent, frequency, and purpose of the land use within these regardless of where these people are situated in relation to farms and towns. KEYWORDS Town tenure security Cradock; agrarian question; land tenure security semi-arid areas; land tenure reform South Africa; land tenure reform semi-arid areas; tenure security game farms, tenure security Eastern Cape. Cape of University iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research forms part of a project which was generously funded by the NWO-WOTRO titled „Farm Workers and Dwellers – The Forgotten People?‟ It is with sincere thanks and gratitude that I thank the entire project team at the University of Cape Town, Vrije Universiteit, and Free State University for making this challenging and necessary research possible. I would like to convey specific thanks and appreciation to my supervisor, Professor Lungisile Ntsebeza, whose rigorous but caring approach guided me through this project. I thank also my „support‟ supervisor at the Vrije Universiteit, Dr Marja Spierenburg. The constant support from my team members, Femke Brandt, Dhoya Snijders and Nancy Andrew will always be cherished. To my fellow students in theTown weekly seminar group at the University of Cape Town, you were there from beginning to end; your generosity is much appreciated. Without the assistance, generosity and co-operationCape of the people interviewed, this project could not have happened. Although you ofremain unnamed, I would like to thank everyone who agreed to be interviewed. Specific thanks to Peter Southey who organised contacts for me in the Karoo; this research could not have begun without you. A special thanks also to the Cradock Advice Office, Masizame Library, and Southern Cape Land Committee and all the people of Cradock for being a home to us when we came to Cradock. Thank you also to my husband, Xolile Madinda, for being a pillar and emotional guide through the toughestUniversity periods we‟ve faced to fulfil my dream. My friends, Lesley Odendal, Stacey-Leigh Joseph, Darlene Miller, Thokozile Madonko, Emily Elder, Paulette Coetzee, Taku Mkencele, my sister Nokulinda Mkhize and cousin sister Sma Ngcamu, Bulelani Booi and Sanelisiwe Singaphi thank you for all your support. I need to make special mention of Anthony Harding who not only read the many versions of this thesis, but challenged my thinking, shared material from his own collection and helped me to examine complex issues. My appreciation to Jeannette Menasce for editing, correcting and formatting my thesis. Lastly, thanks to my parents, for inspiring me to take my studies to this level. iv CONTENTS PLAGIARISM DECLARATION ......................................................................................... I ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... II KEYWORDS III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ IV CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... IX LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................................Town X ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS ................................................................................. XI CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGYCape .................................... 1 BACKGROUND TO STUDY of 1 THE PRIVATE GAME-FARMING CONTEXT 6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 12 CHOICE OF CASE STUDY AREA 15 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 18 RESEARCHUniversity DESIGN 18 RESEARCH QUESTION 19 OBJECTIVES 20 METHODOLOGY 20 DATA ANALYSIS 27 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH 28 THE RESEARCHER IN THE RESEARCH 29 ETHICS 30 CHAPTER OUTLINE 31 PART ONE: CONCEPTUAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT 31 PART TWO: CASE STUDY 32 v CONCLUSION 34 CHAPTER TWO: KEY DEBATES AND CONCEPTUAL CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................................................................... 35 DEFINING TENURE 35 DEFINING FARM WORKERS AND -DWELLERS 42 APPROACHES TO TENURE REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA 43 LAND, AGRARIAN QUESTIONS AND FARM WORKERS AND -DWELLERS 51 IS THERE A LAND QUESTION? 52 IS THERE AN AGRARIAN QUESTION? 53 GAME FARMING, LAND QUESTIONS AND SHIFTS IN SETTLER- NATIONALIST CAPITAL 60 RE-DESIGNING THE FARM, PRODUCING „THE WILD‟ 63 RECONSTRUCTED SPACE AND INSECURE LABOUR 67 CONCLUSION Town 70 CHAPTER THREE: THE SEMI-ARID AREA WORKING CLASS IN THE COLONIAL AGRARIAN CONTEXT ..............................................................................Cape 71 THE EMERGENCE OF A RURAL SERVILE CLASS 74 THE DECLINE OF THE BIJWONERof TENANT CLASS IN SEMI-ARID AREAS 81 CONCLUSION 85 CHAPTER FOUR: NEW FENCES, OLD LAND REGIMES: INTRODUCING BONTEBOK PRIVATE NATURE RESERVE ............................................................... 86 CASE STUDY:University A PRIVATE WILDLIFE NATURE

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