Effectiveness in policy administration : the case of the LRAD programme in the North West Province of South Africa

Abstract

This article presents the challenges of administering the Land Redistribution and Agricultural Development (LRAD) programme in the North West Province of South Africa. The LRAD, which was launched in August 2001, is a market-led land redistribution programme, which contributes to the redistribution of 30% of White owned agricultural land to Black people by March 2014. In the North West Province, this translated into redistribution of 2 035 680 hectares (i.e. 30% of 6 785 600 ha of White owned agricultural land in the province) by the year 2014, of which by March 2007, 172 656 hectares had already been transferred through land redistribution programmes. Political and administrative authority for administration of the LRAD programme has been decentralised from the National to the Provincial sphere. This is consistent with the intergovernmental arrangements of the Republic of South Africa. It presents a governance regime within which the LRAD programme has to be administered. For public administration to be effective in achieving the above-mentioned targets, implementing institutions, namely the North West Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (the DACE) and the North West Provincial Land Reform Offi ce (NWPLRO), had to effectively integrate systems and procedures, as well as co-ordinate the administrative activities required for joint administration of the programme. There was ineffective integration of policies, programmes, systems, and procedures between the DACE and the NWPLRO, which undermined the administration of the LRAD programme in the North West Province. In addition, the DACE suffered from administrative incapacity, which was partly due to the nature of the governance regime pertaining to LRAD programme administration. Administrative incapacity was also affected by the administration of government policy generally. The most important challenge was the inter-governmental relations arrangements, which imposed limits in terms of the allocation of fi nancial resources. The administrative incapacity also undermined the endeavour to collaborate as far as LRAD programme administration is concerned. This negatively impacted the planning phase as a result of shortage of critical personnel. Due to ineffective administration of the programme, the North West Province will not reach its target of 30% of White owned agricultural land to be redistributed by March 2014. Effective administration is instrumental towards the achievement of land redistribution goals and objectives of Government.