Evaluation of the performance of equity-sharing schemes administered by the Department of Land Affairs, Worcester district office of the Western Cape Province

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The study evaluated farmworker equity-sharing schemes administered by theWorcester regional office of the Department of Land Affairs in the Western Cape.The objectives were to investigate the performance of farmworker equity-sharingschemes against recent literature, to evaluate the motivation for the establishment ofthese schemes and whether they served the purpose for which they were established.Through investigating the role these schemes play in improving the farmworkers 'livelihood, the study investigated the changes farmworkers experienced on the farmsince the establishment of the schemes. The perceptions of farmworkers regarding theschemes were also investigated.The study found that at all the farms evaluated there was a lack of formal training toall the levels of farmworkers, including committee members and shareholder workers.These farms did not have the funds to finance training programmes for theirfarmworkers. Poor training impeded farmworkers to utilise their skills and participatein decision making on the farm. Contrary to the objectives of financial participationand farmworker equity-sharing schemes, most of these schemes did not achieve thebroad objectives of the participation schemes such as empowering their workers.Living and working conditions seem to have improved on most of the farms althoughsome farms seem to have experienced no change at all. The ESTA Laws could be thecause of the improvements in housing and working conditions but not theimplementation of the farmworker equity-sharing schemes. Respondents did not seemto experience discrimination due to gender. Financially the schemes are notperforming well. This is evident from the number of schemes that were liquidated dueto financial problems and for which financial statements could not be obtained. Theseschemes face various institutional and structural challenges, which includes financialchallenges.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University