After democracy in 1994, South Africa underwent a period of reform in order to address
inequalities and effect broad social change. As part of this, the Municipal Demarcation Board
began determining the locations of local government boundaries in 1998. The traditional communal
lands and rural villages were often split by municipal boundaries which failed to follow complex
social boundaries. Contest between the government and traditional governance over land resulted
in escalation of disputes. A duality in governance in traditional rural areas was thus created and
rural communities were severely affected.
This research adopts a multiple case study approach to understand disputes over municipal
boundary demarcation. The causes of disputes are investigated and the processes of municipal
demarcation and boundary dispute resolution are analysed using the goals of good governance in
land administration, rights, restrictions and responsibilities, Kotter’s eight stages of change
management and the 7Es performance measurement frameworks. The analysis shows that the
process of municipal demarcation can be improved and provides proposals which should contribute
to reducing boundary demarcation disputes.