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This study examined the expropriation of land for the use of agriculture towards improving the rural economies in South Africa. The apartheid policies of the South African government have pushed the disadvantaged group to the former homelands, townships, and underprivileged reserves. However, rural farmers are facing the disadvantages since they have scarce chances to benefit from the willing seller, willing buyer government strategy of land reform. This study relied on secondary data with the aim of collecting appropriate and necessary information collected by others through primary research methods. The study recommended that the South African land reform policy must be strengthened in a way that can possibly ensure that the government provides resources to rural farmers who managed to access land through the process of land expropriation and redistribution.

South Africa has a dualistic economic structure that includes the on-farm and off-farm economic sectors. This paper is concerned with whether it is the on-farm or off-farm economic sector that serves as the main driver of economic development in South Africa. Agriculture has been previously regarded as the main driver of economic development in South Africa. The Lewis model of economic development is used to gain perspective on the dualistic economic structure of South Africa. This study relied extensively on secondary data, using thematic analysis for qualitative data and Microsoft Excel for quantitative data presentation and analysis. The findings show that the off-farm economic sector holds a major contribution to South African economic development compared to the on-farm economic sector. For example, in 2019, the on-farm economic sector made a significant distribution of employment with about 4.2% but still, the main distribution of employment has been made by the off-farm economic sector through community and social services which recorded about 4.6% of employment. The main issue related to the on-farm economic sector is that it consists of informal economic activities that are struggling to contribute to economic growth. This is because the information generally and statistically on the trade, value and main input of these economic activities is not well recorded in South Africa. There is a need for the government to introduce policies that will guide the operation of the informal economic activities associated with the on-farm economic sector.

Expropriation of land is not new in South Africa, the pre-democratic government expropriated land through the 1913 Land Act. The expropriation of land left black people without land for practising agricultural activities, and no compensation was made. Although this approach excluded blacks, it was successful since the economy was growing very fast. The development was consequently appreciated by the United Nations (UN). After 1994, the democratic government introduced different programmes to address the injustices of the past. However, the progress was too slow. Hence, the Land Expropriation Without Compensation (LEWC) by the South African government was introduced with the aim of addressing the past injustices. It is against this background that the paper raises the question: “Because the predemocratic government expropriated without compensation, does that mean the present government should not compensate the present farmers?” This study shows that non-payment of compensation does not guarantee that this approach will be successful and the past injustices will be addressed. Likewise, giving compensation does not mean that the approach will ensure economic growth and poverty alleviation. Therefore, this article suggests that the implementation of this approach should be done with an African philosophy of Ubuntu which views the land as a living entity, not as a commodity. This will further embrace the Freedom Charter which believes that the land belongs to all – black and white – who live in it.

The Land Expropriation Without Compensation (LEWC) was introduced following the ineffectiveness of the willing buyer, willing seller principle. There are a lot of agreements and disagreements about how the approach (LEWC) can be implemented. This article argues that there are questions of conflict and corruption that need to be taken into consideration before executing the proposed LEWC approach. This article relied extensively on secondary sources as a means of collecting relevant data. It employs strict textual analysis of the available literature relevant to the LEWC concept. The findings show that some political parties, traditional leaders and white farmers oppose the LEWC approach. Most South African state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are in debt, showing that the state cannot manage, control and maintain government properties. Hence, the nationalisation of land through the LEWC may not be sustainable. For this reason, this article recommends transparency and accountability to avoid conflict that might be caused by the approach. Lastly, a corrupt-free government is needed to ensure that everyone (black and white) benefits from the approach.

The increasing rate of brain drain in Sub-Saharan Africa has devastated the ability of many states to pursue objectives related to socio-economic development as they lack the needed human capital to do so. Poverty, Conflict and political intolerance are factors identified as contributing to brain drain in SSA. However, on a positive note, the region has also seen an increase in remittance flows, which have proven to be a lifeline for many families. While the principal objective of this paper is to shed light on the effects of brain drain in SSA it also sheds light on the important role that has been played by remittances to SSA. Therefore, using a strict analysis of the relevant literature related to brain drain in SSA, the study uncovered that brain drain had robbed SSA of vital skills which are essential for development and governments have failed to respond to the threat on brain drain. On the other hand, the region has seen a huge influx of remittances which has become a lifeline for governments in terms of contributing to state budgets, however, having skilled professionals in an economy is more beneficial than remittances, hence the urgent need to reduce brain drain rather than depending on remittances. The study concludes that SSA is stuck between a rock and a hard place as there are no clear cut policies that detail how to reduce brain drain in the region, yet regional governments have been enjoying the huge influx of remittances. The study concluded that brain drain ought to be dealt with as it poses a serious threat to development despite the region receiving millions in remittances.

In the 1950s, China was one of the least developed countries globally, nevertheless, today, Beijing’s rise as a global superpower has over the last three or so decades received unprecedented attention not only in academia but from the political, economic and media discourse. The rise of Chinese hegemony has been witnessed in a range of development driven initiatives in Africa spanning from the economic, political, trade and infrastructural spectrums just to name a few. Nonetheless, over the last thirty plus years, there has been increased attention paid to Beijing’s military growth and particularly its presence in Africa through the United Nations (UN’s) peacekeeping initiatives. China’s growing security presence in Africa outlines its motive for preserving regional peace and order for its already lucrative economic cooperation and trade with a range of African states. While others view Sino-African relations as beneficial to Africa, others are not so convinced, citing that China is after Africa’s natural resources for its now flourishing economy. By utilizing a qualitative research approach, the aim of this article is to ponder on Chinese military involvement through peacekeeping missions in Africa and to unearth what gains (if any) these have on continental security presently and moving forward.

The current debate about the expropriation of agricultural land was trigged after the unsuccessfulness of the willing buyer, willing seller approach to allocating land among the previously dispossessed South Africans. The willing buyer, willing seller policy targeted allocating 30 percent of the land to the poor (mostly black people); however, this has not been achieved. Therefore, expropriation of agricultural land was suggested to solve the racial inequalities in land ownership. Despite the fact that there are studies conducted that focus on land expropriation without compensation and food security, there is less attention given to how the expropriation of agricultural land can affect food security and the economic growth of South Africa. This work relies heavily on secondary sources to gather pertinent data. It performs a comprehensive textual study of the literature related to the expropriation of agricultural land. The paper argues that the expropriation of productive agricultural land might have a detrimental impact on South Africa’s food security and economic growth. The land expropriation can affect productive agricultural land since agricultural production will decline, food prices will hike, and the majority of people will lose their jobs. Moreover, the allocation of land to South Africans who lack experience in farming can also be dangerous for the economy and food security.

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other parts of the world, women rely on farming for the generation of their livelihood. However, their effort is limited by the dichotomy of land laws (statutory and customary land laws). The statutory land law promotes equality between men and women, giving women the right to buy, sell and inherit land. On the other hand, customary land law is grounded in patriarchal notions, where land is only allocated to a male figure as the head of the household. This law is the one that mostly supports men and rejects women. It is against this background that the present study argues that the dichotomy of land laws affects women. As a result, they experience a higher level of poverty than men. The present article used the legal pluralism theory to explain the existence of two different land laws in South Africa. Additionally, the study relied extensively on secondary sources as means of collecting relevant and required data. It employed strict textual analysis of the available literature relevant to the challenges of women in land ownership. The findings of the study show that the existence of customary law affects women who rely heavily on farming for their survival. On the basis of these, the study recommends that even though there are different land rights, the government should develop programmes that will ensure simultaneous operationalisation of these land laws. In addition, as much as there can be two laws that govern South African land, they should not contradict each other. Secondly, the land should be inheritable by both the male and female in a household.

The South African rural communities depend more on subsistence farming as a primary strategy to improve their livelihood. This livelihood strategy has the potential to eliminate poverty and hunger by means of ensuring food security. This paper critically assessed the contribution of subsistence farming to the livelihood of rural communities in South Africa. The Sustainable Livelihood Approach was used as a primary theory to assess the extent to which subsistence farming contributes to the livelihood of rural communities. The paper relied more on secondary data to collect relevant information and textual analysis was used as a tool for analysing reviewed literature that is relevant to subsistence farming as a strategy to improve the livelihood of rural communities. Through the use of the Sustainable Livelihood Approach, this paper identified the struggling state of subsistence farming in rescuing South African rural communities from risks and trends created by the poverty cycle. This is because the majority of South Africans are currently suffering from hunger and food insecurity. While this livelihood strategy is unsustainable to cope with the conditions of climate change, while rural communities are also lacking access to credits, low level of education, and lack of knowledge about innovative productions that are required to increase the productivity of farms and also the shortage of labour skills that are required for the sustainability and succession of subsistence farming. The paper recommends that the local institutions of development should provide training programmes pertaining to the use of livelihood strategies to develop skills to the rural communities.

The identification of NGOs that focus on integrated human development and encourage public participation particularly at the grass-root level has been a prominent feature in developing countries in the post-colonial era. Utilizing a qualitative methodology supplemented by secondary data, this article aims to assess the role of NGOs in stimulating development in post-1994 South Africa. While the developmental role of NGOs was limited during the apartheid era, the continuous social ills post the democratic era encompassing of unemployment, increasing population, poor governance and inequality levels have made NGOs crucial for development driven purposes and the consolidation of good governance. The article rightfully attests to the fact that if South African government is to stimulate its economic growth prospects, more robust plans, carried out in conjunction with NGOs in the development arena is of importance currently and moving forward.