https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/2989 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:49:12 GMT 2026-09-19T00:49:12Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/33042 Critical analysis of the Impact of rural land right alienation laws on environmental conservation in Ethiopia : existing obstacles and prospects Kebebew Birhanu Tadesse This thesis investigates the impact of rural land rights alienation laws on environmental conservation in Ethiopia, with particular emphasis on the relationship between land rights and environmental sustainability. It critically examines both historical and contemporary legal frameworks governing rural land rights and evaluates how these frameworks influence environmental outcomes. The study adopts a qualitative doctrinal legal research methodology, primarily based on an extensive literature review and comparative legal analysis. It analyzes Ethiopia’s Constitution, land policies, land laws, and relevant judicial decisions, alongside scholarly works and international legal instruments. In addition, a comparative assessment is conducted using the legal frameworks of Sweden and New Zealand to draw lessons from jurisdictions that have effectively integrated land rights with environmental conservation. The findings reveal that although Ethiopia’s rural land rights alienation laws aim to balance development and environmental protection, significant challenges persist. While community-based land management practices show some positive environmental outcomes, problems such as land degradation, deforestation, and biodiversity loss remain prevalent. These challenges are largely attributed to gaps in legal frameworks, weak institutional enforcement, tenure insecurity, and socio-economic pressures. The research highlights the need for comprehensive legal reforms to harmonize land and environmental laws, strengthen tenure security, and enhance institutional capacity. It further highlights the importance of integrating participatory land management approaches and indigenous knowledge systems into formal legal frameworks. The study concludes by recommending alignment of Ethiopia’s land governance system with international best practices and emphasizes the importance of sustainable land management for achieving long-term environmental conservation and rural development. These reforms are essential to safeguarding natural resources and improving the livelihoods of rural communities Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/33042 2026-08-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32884 The Obligation on Landowners to Accommodate ESTA Occupiers on their Land: Critically Analysing Daniels v Scribante 2017 4 SA 341 (CC) Ngwenyama, Lerato Rudolph In Daniels v Scribante (hereafter the Daniels case) the Constitutional Court had to decide whether: (a) the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA) afforded Ms Daniels the right to make improvements to her dwelling; (b) if consent from the person in charge, Mr Scribante, was a requirement for Ms Daniels to make such improvements; and (c) if consent was not a requirement, if Ms Daniels could effect improvements to the total disregard of Mr Scribante. The judgment in Daniels is important not only because it paved the way for Ms Daniels to effect improvements on her existing dwelling without the consent of Mr Scribante, but also because it showed that under section 8(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (hereafter the Constitution) on the application of the Bill of Rights Mr Scribante owed a positive obligation to Ms Daniels to ensure that she lived in conditions that afforded her human dignity. In Daniels the Constitutional Court indicated that private landowners were enjoined by section 25(6) of the Constitution through ESTA to accommodate ESTA occupiers on their land. According to the Constitutional Court in Daniels, the nature of the obligation imposed by section 25(6) of the Constitution was both negative and positive, and in this particular case it rested on Mr Scribante. Against this background, this case note provides at the outset the salient facts and judgment of the Daniels case. This is followed by an analysis aimed at critiquing the judgment in Daniels pertaining to what is expected of private landowners in the new constitutional dispensation. It is concluded that more may be required from the private landowner - a positive duty - to ensure that ESTA occupiers enjoy fundamental rights. Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32884 2023-09-08T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32883 Access to Electricity for ESTA Occupiers: TM Sibanyoni and Sibanyoni Family v Van Der Merwe and Any Other Person in Charge of Farm 177, Vaal bank Portion 13 Hendrina, Mpumalanga (LCC 119/2020) [2021] ZALCC 33 (7 September 2021) Ngwenyama, Lerato Rudolph This case note highlights the importance of access to electricity for occupiers under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (hereafter ESTA). More importantly, the case note questions whose responsibility it is to provide ESTA occupiers with access to electricity on farmland. Moreover, it will comment on whether the Land Claims Court (hereafter LCC) got the decision right (or not). Furthermore, it provides a comment on whether the right to human dignity in section 5 of ESTA requires a dwelling on rural or peri-urban land to have access to electricity. It will also comment on whether the Sibanyoni judgment was progressive (or not) and why. The conclusion is that access to electricity is essential in modern life to enjoy adequate living conditions. A dwelling without electricity deprives an ESTA occupier of benefits such as utilising electric equipment, which is necessary for daily living. ESTA occupiers are unable to use stoves, which are crucial and safe for cooking. They are also not able to have lights, which are useful to deter criminality in their dwellings. Very importantly, ESTA occupiers' human dignity would be violated or denied to them by refusing to install electricity in their dwellings. The state therefore has a positive obligation to provide ESTA occupiers with access to electricity. Private landowners have only a negative obligation to refrain from impairing ESTA occupiers' right to access to electricity by not unreasonably refusing consent to have electricity installed by the state. The Sibanyoni judgment was progressive, among other reasons because it permitted an ESTA occupier to have electricity installed on his dwelling without the consent of the private landowner. Thu, 23 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32883 2023-11-23T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32882 The impact of COVID-19 and government mitigation regulations on attending customary initiation schools in South Africa Ngwenyama, Lerato Rudolph Initiations in South Africa ordinarily take place in June and December every year. However, initiations were suspended in March 2020 when South Africa went on national lockdown necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The ban on initiations was only applicable at alert level two and five. At alert level one, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (“COGTA”) issued a statement stating that initiations would remain suspended in an attempt to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to save the lives of initiates. However, the Eastern Cape Province was an exception because initiation conductors made submissions to COGTA that they would comply with all health protocol measures. This paper evaluates the South African government’s legislative and regulatory response to the Covid-19 pandemic – especially in the context of customary practices such as initiation. In order to undertake an evaluation of the government’s legislative and regulatory response to the pandemic, the paper considers the following aspects: (1) which measures were put in place to regulate initiation schools; (2) were the measures due to governmental regulation or did initiation school conductors simply recognise the need to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by shutting down initiation schools; and (3) more importantly, what are the constitutional implications (if any) of the government’s legislative and regulatory response to the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of prohibiting initiation. The paper concludes that the government adopted far-reaching measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19. These measures involved a restriction on the right to participate in cultural initiation. However, in a national state of disaster such as has been the case with the Covid-19, these measures are justifiable limitations of the right to enjoy cultural initiation. Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32882 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z