About AFRA

AFRA is an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) working on land rights and agrarian reform in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. AFRA's work focuses on African rural people whose rights to land have been undermined, whose tenure is insecure, and who do not have access to sufficient land to fulfil their development aspirations, or even their basic needs. AFRA Mission Statement Vision AFRA is an independent land rights NGO that aims to redress past injustices, to secure tenure for all, and to improve the quality of life and livelihoods of the rural poor. AFRA works for a peaceful, secure, productive and prosperous society through the equitable redistribution of land, resources and opportunities. AFRA is committed to a non-racial society in which there is gender equality and participatory democracy. Target Group AFRA works with black rural people in KwaZulu-Natal whose land and development rights have been undermined, whose tenure is insecure and who do not have sufficient access to land and resources to fulfil their developmental aspirations or basic needs. Method AFRA will work towards this vision by: Empowering communities to engage with land reform processes to meet their needs; Promoting and protecting the interests of women and the poorest within the groups we work with; and Networking with other organisations to lobby for a just and effective land reform programme for the benefit of our target group within an integrated rural development framework.

AFRA’s Strategic Vision 2011-2013 Rationale AFRA has a vision for the development of robust, viable and sustainable rural livelihoods for poor black South Africans. In order to contribute to this vision, we work to ensure that poor black rural dwellers in KwaZulu-Natal are able to assert, claim and realise their land and development rights under the constitution. Over the coming three years we intend to ensure that least three of the 14 communities we work with have secure access to land, and will have resources for its development.  We will achieve this objective by taking direct responsibility for assisting these poor rural communities to: 1. Articulate a clear vision for land and rural development; 2. Influence the institutions responsible for land and rural development; 3. Gain access to land, identify livelihood opportunities, access markets, and participate in economic value chains; 4. Secure their socio-economic and land rights and set legal precedents on their behalf. We believe that if we: 1. Assist communities in identifying, analysing and articulating their central problems, and in developing capacity around technical aspects of development, so that these problems can be clearly expressed; 2. Identify the relevant development institutions, analysing their plans and priorities (and the implications these have for community development), and assist the communities in selecting representatives to participate in these institutions; 3. Build their capacity to lobby and advocate for their vision for rural development; 4. Conduct rigorous and targeted research and feasibility studies which identify potential markets and projects, and develop appropriate proposals for implementation; and 5. Provide legal services to communities, lobby for changes to the law, and establish appropriate legal precedents which entrench socio-economic and land rights for rural dwellers, then we will achieve our objective.  If we are able to manage this we believe we will be able to achieve the following targets: 1. Establishing a clear development vision for at least six of our 14 communities by 2013 2. Developing viable models and plans for the provision of services and infrastructure to poor rural households in these communities. 3. Ensuring that at least six community representatives are invited to participate in decision-making institutions 4. Ensuring that community development proposals are reflected in municipal Integrated Development Plans and are recognised by relevant development institutions. 5. Ensuring that 20 homesteads have implemented viable projects by 2013 6. Ensuring that projects begin to derive revenue for householders and communities by 2013 7. Resolving of 60% of legal cases within 24 months In order to reach these targets, a number of other things must also take place if we are to ensure that poor black rural dwellers in KwaZulu-Natal are able to assert, claim and realise their land and development rights under the constitution.  It is important that households and individuals participate in a common development vision. If there are different community interests, these will need to be reconciled. People invited to participate in development institutions must be sufficiently representative and must have the capacity to contribute substantively. This will need to be monitored and managed. AFRA will also need to devote resources to capacity building. Identifying and securing resources for the implementation of rural development proposals will become an increasingly important aspect of our work, as will securing the increasingly specialised expertise which goes with it.  Finally, the Land Rights Legal Unit will need to monitor AFRA’s activities very closely in order to convert progress made into legal precedents. Our ability to succeed is, however, affected by factors outside of AFRA. Foremost amongst these may be government’s failure to adequately prioritise poor black rural dwellers. Political conflict may also delay projects and undermine the credibility of community leaders. Lack of cooperation between different levels of government is a feature of South African life and can undermine or paralyse development initiatives.  Taken together, however, we believe that the actions proposed will be sufficient to enable poor black rural dwellers in the communities we support to access, claim and realise their land and development rights under the constitution. The strategy we propose is an important step towards that end.