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Displaying 361 - 370 of 470Mapping for investability: remaking land and maps in Lesotho
Maps are instrumental in the commodification of land and its exchange in markets. The critical cartog- raphy literature emphasizes the ‘‘power of maps” to (re)define property relations through their descrip- tive and prescriptive attributes. But how do maps work to achieve these outcomes? This paper examines the notion of maps as ‘‘inscription devices” that turn land into a commodity that can be bought and sold by investors. It is based on the analysis of a land reform project in the Southern African country of Lesotho.
Development by dispossession: the post-2000 development agenda and land rights in Lesotho
This paper questions the novelty of post-2000 development strategies, in particular the US’s Millennium Challenge Corporation and its ethos of ‘poverty reduction through economic growth.’ Using land as a lens, I explore recent eras of development assistance and ask if the Millennium-era has been appreciably different from pre-2000 development. The backdrop of my study is an MCC-sponsored land reform in Lesotho. I use data drawn from fieldwork in Lesotho to argue that the logics and outcomes of the Development industry’s land policies have remained largely the same.
The Validity and Challenges of the Traditional Chieftaincy in Modern Decentralization or Decentralized Governance for Development (DGD) in Lesotho
The paper discusses chieftaincy and colonialism in Lesotho, institutional roles of chieftaincy, the role of chieftaincy in the era of modern democracy/DGD, the relations between the democratic local authorities and chieftaincy in Lesotho and the role of chieftaincy and its constraints in the decentralized system of Lesotho. The paper directly contributes knowledge in public management sciences and administrative policy systems.
Measuring Gender, Development, and Land: Data-Driven Analysis and Land Reform in Lesotho
Development agencies are increasingly making decisions and evaluating success on the basis of an ever-growing supply of data. Some argue that the proliferation of data improves development outcomes for states and people targeted by agencies' interventions, as well as the accountability of those agencies. Others argue that problems of selection bias, a lack of longitudinal records, and misuse of data can ignore or even exacerbate the problems that development agencies seek to mitigate.
Development, politics and the centralisation of state power in Lesotho, 1960-75
The rhetoric of development served as a language for Sotho politicians from 1960–70 to debate the meanings of political participation. The relative paucity of aid in this period gave outsized importance to small projects run in rural villages, and stood in stark contrast to the period from the mid-1970s onwards when aid became an ‘antipolitics machine’ that worked to undermine national sovereignty.
South African land news #March 2020
Every day since Pres Ramaphosa was elected into office we have searched out South African land-related news which is curated on our website knowledgebase.land. This publication provides a brief summary of land news across a range of categories for March 2020
COVID-19: Trade restrictions are worst possible response to safeguard food security
As COVID-19 spreads around the globe, fears of a deep global recession are mounting. Some also fear that food supplies may start running short, especially if supply chains are disrupted. Others fear that agricultural production may be disrupted by containment measures that restrict workers from harvesting and handling crops.
Zim announces price freeze as food costs skyrocket during lockdown
Zimbabwe has announced a price freeze on goods and services and ordered businesses to instead revert to prices obtained on 25 March 2020, just before the country went into a nationwide lockdown.
At a meeting attended by representatives of the manufacturing and retail sector, Vice President Kembo Mohadi, who is also chair of the Covid-19 taskforce, said the country has been experiencing escalating food prices that has made essentials unaffordable for many.
Skyrocketing prices
Land News South Africa: Urban land 31 March - 26 April 2020
Urban land
Our urban land pages have been filled with the struggles of people living in townships and informal settlements during the pandemic. One of the controversial state responses to Covid 19 has been to propose the ‘thinning’ of densely settled areas in a bid to slow the speed of community viral transmission. These plans have been met with scepticism by residents of informal settlements who argued that such measures, taken without adequate consultation, would meet with resistance and be destined for failure.
