Communities,institutions and natural resources: An assessment of case‐studies from KwaZulu Natal

This article describes three community‐based organisations (CBOs) that were established to protect natural resources in parts of KwaZulu Natal. The object is to determine why some CBOs are more successful than others. The case‐studies (Dukuduku Forest, Shongweni Resources Reserve and Thukela Biosphere Reserve) are analysed and compared using criteria suggested by the theory of institutional economics. It is concluded that the rural poor are unlikely to comply with rules restricting their access to natural resources unless the benefits are obvious. Creating appropriate management institutions is a necessary first step, but it may also be necessary to subsidise their enforcement costs and development programmes.     

Labour‐intensive construction approach for community organised water supply

An approach of direct labour construction of a piped water supply was planned and executed during 1986 in a peri‐urban area of the Umgeni Valley near Durban. The organisational structure to achieve this construction work resulted in a considerable saving in cost as compared to the conventional civil engineering contract. However this approach had several disadvantages in the form of split responsibilities and penalties for the consulting engineer. The labour‐intensive approach was adapted to achieve three objectives: firstly, unemployment relief; secondly, community responsibility for the infrastructure; and thirdly, reduced costs. The total construction cost of the pipeline was completed within 2,5 per cent of the estimated cost over a period of nine months and involved the laying of 13 km of pipeline supplying twenty‐four standpipes and eight schools at a cost of R238 000.     

Constructing migration: Infrastructure,poverty and development in KwaZulu‐Natal

Migration and population movement are probably the most neglected of the significant dynamics behind rural poverty in South Africa. Little is known about how people move from place to place, and much of what we thought we knew may be incorrect. In KwaZulu‐Natal job search is no longer the single dominating reason given for migration. Instead, infrastructure ties with it for first place today, with land close behind. The first article in this two‐part report notes that as many as two thirds of the province's disadvantaged families have broken away from their communities of origin and moved at least once during their lifetimes. Perhaps three million have migrated in the last fifteen years. A second unexpected finding is the predominance of rural‐to‐rural migration. Three quarters of all moves recorded were rural to rural, with many orientated towards advantaged rural areas around small towns and secondary cities. Results show how streams are channelled towards poverty or opportunity, and argue for a review of prevailing concepts of rural‐urban relations which structure delivery efforts. The second article, to follow later, notes that recorded income levels are now higher in some rural destination areas than in the urban shack communities that accommodate rural‐to‐urban migrants. Results of various studies presented show how access to information affects migration patterns, and the article also explores the role of infrastructure as a determining force in the regional distribution of population and as a factor in people's own bootstrap anti‐poverty efforts.     

Inefficient land use in KwaZulu: Causes and remedies

Rural KwaZulu is a less developed region of South Africa. Despite intense population pressure, arable land is underutilized. Grazing resources are overutilized.

Supply response to price incentives and farmer support programmes is inelastic as the potential gains to farmers are limited by small farm sizes. Facilitating the land rental market could improve efficiency informing, and also has equity advantages. Institutional changes are needed to encourage land rental

Overstocking occurs primarily because grazing is an open access common property resource. Unlike most solutions to overstocking (eg cattle taxes and quotas), privatization of grazing land (even in the limited sense that arable land is privately controlled) would not only encourage stock‐owners to reduce stocking rates but would also improve their incentive to upgrade herd and pasture quality. It is recommended that privatization be promoted in areas where it is more acceptable to households.     

Sugarcane farming in KwaZulu: Two communities investigated

The social and economic impact of sugarcane farming in two rural communities in KwaZulu is described. Attention is focused on the cash benefits which accrue to those smallholders cultivating the crop. It was found that only a small percentage of smallholders could expect a monthly income equivalent to the household subsistence level. The majority of smallholders will continue to depend upon migrant remittances to meet their subsistence requirements as they will only obtain a supplementary income from sugarcane. The result of this is continued dependence on the sugarcane mill for financial assistance and the de facto loss of control by the smallholder over the utilization of his land. It is recommended that where the smallholder possesses less than three to four hectares of arable land, he should be encouraged to cultivate traditional food crops on a scientific basis rather than sugarcane.     

Women's producer groups in rural KwaZulu: Limits and possibilities

Non‐agricultural ‘self‐help’ initiatives tend to be synonomous with handicraft activities. This paper addresses the potential of such initiatives in terms of income generation and developmental impact.

An outline of the context within which these initiatives may be understood is followed by an analysis of how rural producers respond to their conditions in an organizational sense. The paper's conclusions are derived from a discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of various organizational forms which includes the perceptions of the producers.     

Urbanisation and urban management in KwaZulu Natal

Urbanisation and population movements in KwaZulu Natal from 1980 to 1991 and their implications for urban management are examined. People moved out of Natal rural areas and most small towns and into urban and rural KwaZulu areas. The most rapid growth has been in the Durban Functional Region, especially its KwaZulu districts. There has been movement into KwaZulu rural areas, both around urban centres and in outlying areas. A number of the larger towns have experienced population in‐migration even where employment and growth in output have been static or have declined. These trends raise questions about the explanatory value of urban transition models and suggest rather more complex patterns of movement.     

The household,economic differentiation and agricultural production in Shixini,Transkei

Vital factors in understanding agricultural production in ‘homeland’ areas are the way in which productive resources are distributed in the community and the structure and constitution of the household. Based on an intensive survey of 22 households in Shixini, Transkei. this paper investigates the relationship between stock, consumer and work units, and the area of arable land and maize yield. it is found that the household's access to stock is the most important variable in determining maize yields. Draught cattle, in particular, give households access to a ready source of fertiliser and to membership of ploughing companies. This paper underlines the importance of stock keeping as a variable in understanding agricultural production and economic differentiation.     

Small business education and training in Transkei

The objectives of this survey, which was conducted among two groups of respondents, namely urban small business persons and providers of small business education and training, were to: - determine the availability and adequacy of small business education and training

- identify the main gaps and deficiencies in such training

- formulate proposals and recommendations to remedy the deficiencies and gaps.

Two different questionnaires were developed and used to collect data from 121 small business persons and 3 institutions concerned with small business education and training in Transkei.

An analysis of the data revealed that although training is being conducted, a great deal needs to be done in order to meet the training needs of the small business community. Education programmes are not being developed to enable small business people to cope with the problems of managing their businesses.     

Farmer characteristics,innovativeness and cotton production at Makhatini Irrigation Scheme,KwaZulu

An understanding of the various practices was the most important of the various human factors affecting adoption of cotton practices as recommended. Availability of financial resources as well as entrepreneurial ability in turn affected innovativeness and yield per hectare. Less than half of the farmers who adopted practices were implementing them according to recommendations and many did not have a clear concept that practices were inter‐related. There is a need to select farmers on the basis of farming knowledge, resources and managerial ability. There is also a need to upgrade extension services aimed at improving farming knowledge and skills and to create opportunities for greater farmer participation, as well as to improve the integration of research, technology development, support services, extension and farmers if cotton production is to offer an alternative to wage employment.     

Exploring income variations across traditional authorities in KwaZulu‐Natal,South Africa

To understand income inequality and poverty, one must go beyond the important and much‐studied differences rural and urban living and investigate inequalities within rural areas. Using new South African data aggregated by ‘traditional authorities’, this article examines variations in per capita income across poor, rural, mostly black areas of KwaZulu‐Natal (KZN) province. The inequalities are significant. In explaining them, the article examines the importance of such variables as education, proportion of females in the resident population, population density, soil quality and rainfall. A geographical information system is used to map both the raw data and the residuals from a regression analysis, and this combination of statistical and geographical analyses yields new insights. Finally, the article suggests how these techniques might be supplemented by qualitative and quantitative studies of ‘overachieving’ and ‘underachieving’ traditional authorities ‐ those whose incomes per capita are well above or below what regression equations would predict.     

Achievement motivation and small business success in Transkei

The success of small firms is crucial for the creation and expansion of employment opportunities. Success in business often relies on entrepreneurial skills and attributes. This article examines the effect of one of these attributes, need achievement (n‐Ach), on entrepreneurial success as measured by asset, sales and labour growth. N‐Ach was found to be a significant predictor of success for indigenous entrepreneurs in Transkei Subjects with high and above‐average n‐Ach level tended to engage in more sophisticated business ventures than their counterparts low on n‐Ach. Male entrepreneurs were found to have a higher mean score on n‐Ach than their female counterparts. A one‐unit enhancement in n‐Ach level of the entrepreneur could induce a more than proportionate rise in the labour growth rate of the small entrepreneurial firm.     

Off‐farm wage returns to education: A study in KwaZulu

Off‐farm wage returns to school education are estimated using sample survey data gathered in rural KwaZulu. The results show that returns to school education are relatively high for both men and women. Conclusions are drawn regarding structural changes and appropriate policy in rural KwaZulu.     

Problems and training needs of small business in Transkei

This note reports the findings of a survey of the problems and training needs of 121 small business owner‐managers in Transkei The average response rate was 83 per cent, with 63 per cent of the towns achieving a response rate of over 70 per cent Retailers made up the largest part of the sample (45 per cent). It was ascertained that the owner‐managers experienced management problems and that existing training was not meeting their needs.