Resistance to ‘betterment’ in the Transkei: a case study from Willowvale district

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the introduction and initial implementation of an agricultural 'betterment' scheme in Shixini Administrative Area, Willowvale district, Transkei. It is an attempt to throw light on two questions: why has betterment been resisted so strongly and widely, from its beginnings in the 1930s to the present day; and how does betterment affect 'traditionally oriented' people who, it has been claimed, have been in the forefront of this resistance? The answer to these questions lies in understanding the nature of economic activity in Shixini and the social and organisational basis of this activity. More specifically, it is necessary to look at the effect of 'betterment' on the economic and social life of the people involved. As outlined in the 1936 Native Trust and Land Act and other legislation, betterment was designed to transform the pattern of land use in the reserves by dividing rural locations into residential, arable and grazing units, fencing off grazing camps and fields, and grouping homesteads together into village-like settlements. Sometimes, such schemes also included plans for soil conservation and veld reclamation, afforestation, improved agricultural extension services, and other small scale development projects. Betterment policy underwent various changes over the years and wa.s applied differently in different parts of South Africa.' In most areas where attempts were made to implement these schemes, resistance was encountered from the people affected, who came to associate the schemes with loss of livestock (through culling), restrictions on the use of grazing, and reductions in the availability of arable land. In the 1950s and 1960s resistance to betterment became interwoven with resistance to the implementation of the Bantu Authorities Act.