Evaluating aspects of the deeds registration system in the context of two titled communities (urban and rural) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
The findings have been found to have resonance in a range of other contexts where titling has been introduced, e.g. cities and other rural areas. The Leap project aims to introduce an action research component into the research, providing a forum for active engagement between title holders and the state through the intermediary of the partnership. At the same time the project aims to provide a platform for engagement with policy on the likely consequences of titling and registration in both urban and rural contexts. Existing research findings suggest there are substantial mismatches between local property management and the formal system of registration. In particular, property is regarded as family property. Ownership of land does not imply the conferral of proprietal powers on any one person or set of persons within the family. The project will provide a link to the academic research component which aims to document local practices and understandings of property ownership and succession and identify the particular areas of disjuncture with current legal requirements. A key aim of the Leap project is to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of the application of the Land Titles Adjustment Act, no of (currently in process in Fingo Village) and the Upgrading of Land Rights Act, No of both of which purport to integrate titles that were issued to black owners in the past with the national Deeds registration system. Another critical component of the Leap project is to explore the applicability of new digital forms of spatial recognition, such as GIS to accommodate more flexible approaches to recording property, and at a more decentralised level; and to carefully evaluate the implications for the current land management system. The project aims to make use of advocacy and the Leap learning network to disseminate findings and recommendations from the broader research component, building on people’s own testimonies of how they use land, manage their property ownership arrangements and pass property to succeeding generations
Project Details
NGO Partner:
Legal Resource Centre
Location:
Grahamstown and Keiskammahoek district, Eastern Cape
Funder:
Funding is being sought
Duration of project:
Mid 2008 - Mid 2009