Sipho Dube

Proposing love on the way to school: mobility, sexuality and youth transitions in South Africa

Young peoples daily mobility in sub-Saharan Africa remains largely invisible and under-researched. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from the Child Mobility Project in South Africa, we show how young peoples daily journeys (to school and other places) shape, and are shaped by, the possibility of sexual encounters. Young women are seen to be at risk of sexual violence as they travel around their neighbourhoods and fears of sexual violence and transgressive relationships lead to controls over their mobility, with potentially negative consequences for education and social opportunities. However, mobility can also present opportunities for welcomed sexual encounters and experimentation, which are seen as part of growing up. We discuss the implications for young womens ability to negotiate safe routes to adulthood.

A Policy Framework for Sustainable Utilisation of Farmland for the Waterberg District Municipality in South Africa

This study crafts a policy framework for sustainable utilisation of farmland for the Waterberg District Municipality in South Africa. The district, being predominantly agricultural and rural, faces contention in terms of land allocation for traditional agricultural land uses versus contemporary uses such as golf courses, game ranching and holiday accommodation/lodges. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that these challenges were besetting the district at a time when it did not have a policy for sustainable land use. Fully cognisant of this shortcoming, the municipality decided to generate a policy framework for sustainable utilisation of farmland. The approach entailed a participatory situational analysis identifying all land zones for agricultural purposes in the district and prime agricultural land as well as environmentally sensitive areas. In addition, the policy environment governing the development of agricultural land was thoroughly assessed to ensure compliance, consistency and alignment of the policy with the provincial and national policies. The outcome is a policy framework expected to facilitate, guide and influence the sustainable subdivision of farmland taking into account the realities of the existence of competing needs for agricultural land use. The policy framework clearly shows specific areas that may and may not subdivide further, with reasons. Also, it presents a set of guidelines and minimum requirements, to inform decision-making regarding subdivision proposals.