There's too little time left to find solutions to land restitution problems, because there's so much emphasis on tracing the history of forced removals. That's what Members of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform has told Western Cape land restitution claimants.
The claimants, who are organised under the Congress for the Aboriginal Leaders of South Africa (CONFALSA), appeared before the committee to explain the petition they submitted to Parliament on 28 May 2010.
In the petition, the claimants appealed to Parliament to intervene in the failure of the regional and national Land Claims Departments to process their land claims.
According to the leader of CONFALSA, Mr Nico Nel, some of the claims were submitted 13 years ago.
"We have lost confidence in both regional and national land claims offices," he said.
Mr Nel told Members of the Committee that CONFALSA was the legitimate voice of the claimants of the Western Cape.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Stone Sizani, appealed for cooperation from the claimants in order to find solutions to the problems.
"Please petitioners, cooperate with us so that Parliament can offer assistance in this process," Mr Sizani said.
Asked by members of the committee to respond to complaints contained in the petition, the Western Cape Regional Land Claims Commissioner, Ms Beverley Jansen, said more than 90 percent of claims had been processed.
She said the commission faced challenges that delayed the processing of claims, the most formidable of which was when claimed land was occupied by private individuals. She assured the petitioners of the committee's support until the expected results were delivered.
Source: Parliament of South Africa
Emphasis must be on solutions in land claims
