Incomprehension follows the comprehensive rural development programme

In mid-2009, when the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme was unveiled, Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti, stressed this as 'a novel approach to rural development in South Africa', ringing in a new dispensation that would transform the rural landscape. But three years down the line, local interventions and the participation of local communities remain a concern as the programme seemingly repeats many of the mistakes of previous initiatives, write Tim Hart and Peter Jacobs.