Weak Land Reform in South Africa -- A Failure The democratically
elected South African government (led by the African National
Congress) committed itself to undertake broad and sweeping
efforts to reverse the deprivations institutionalized by
apartheid. These efforts were outlined in the Reconstruction and
Development Programme (RDP). The RDP is a policy framework
developed through extensive consultation between the African
National Congress, its tri-partite alliance partners (Congress
of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist
Party) and other mass organizations in the broader civil
society. Three years after the promulgation of the
Reconstruction and Development Programme, its implementation has
been both a spectacular success and an abysmal failure. The
successes of the RDP can be measured in several accomplishments
that concretely improve the health and well-being of South
Africa's poorest citizens. Free healthcare has been instituted
for women and children; a nutrition program now reac