Vogelfontein Land Restoration celebration, Brits
16 September 2006
Programme Director, Mr Kganare Lefoka
Chief Lands Claim Commissioner, Mr Tozi Gwanya
Bojanala Platinum District Executive Mayor, Councillor Raymond Motsepe
Madibeng Executive Mayor, Councillor Sophy Molokwane
Other mayors and councillors present
Our honoured traditional leaders
Claimant representative, Mr Masike
The community of Vogelfontein
Ba gaetsho, dumelang!
"The land shall be shared among those who work it".
I am extremely honoured to be delivering this address on this historical
occasion of the official Vogelfontein Land Restoration celebration. This is an
important day in the history of the North West province and the communities of
Vogelfontein in particular.
I have begun this address by quoting from the founding document of our
freedom, democracy and reconstruction, the Freedom Charter which says, among
other things, that "the land shall be shared among those who work it".
This guiding document of the nation's collective emancipation further says
that restrictions of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and all
the land re-divided amongst those who work it to banish famine and land hunger.
The Freedom Charter goes on to say that "the democratic state shall help the
peasants with implements, seed, tractors and dams to save the soil and assist
the tillers".
Therefore on behalf of the North West Provincial Government and the
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment in particular, I would
like to commit ourselves to assisting the new owners of this Vogelfontein land,
the tillers, so that they put the land to good use and thus contribute to the
rebuilding of our society through agricultural farming.
As you might know, the history of this land stretches back as far as 1910,
when Johannes Masilo bought shares in the farm that was originally granted to J
H Prinsloo.
Soon after Masilo, other black people bought shares in the farm so that it
was now subdivided into several portions, with the claimants holding both
registered and unregistered land rights and black people becoming co-owners
with white people in undivided shares of the farm.
However, in 1921, the farm was subdivided and ultimately the then South
African Government expropriated some of the portions that were declared "Black
Spots" as a result of the Development Trust and Land Act of 1938. As you would
recall again, the laws of the time did not allow the registration of land
ownership in the name of Africans. As a result of this, very few black people
held registered land rights, and those who purchased land were compelled to
have properties registered in the names of the Native Commissioners or the
Missionaries on their behalf.
This is a sad but true history of the land that we are restoring today. In
addition, it became clear as this claim was investigated that portions of this
farm were sold for different prices to different buyers and, like most forced
removals or expropriation cases, the people were not given a choice to contest
the compensation they received. It is therefore clear to us that compensation
was not just and equitable but was done in terms of apartheid policy and
therefore insufficient to put the claimants in a position that they were in
before dispossession.
We are therefore very delighted today that we have come to rewrite an
important chapter of our history by restoring land, not only to its rightful
owners but people who shall work the land to achieve maximum benefits for the
community, the economy and the general population of the province. We are very
heartened to announce that about 4 100 members of the Vogelfontein community
will benefit from the restoration of this property. To them, I would like to
say, use the land wisely and productively. Use the land for the development and
growth of your families and the entire Vogelfontein community through sustained
agricultural activities.
I am certain that considering the history of this piece of land, the
families of Vogelfontein are more than ready to make a meaningful contribution
towards self-development and the creation of a better life for themselves and
their fellow community members.
In conclusion, I would like to applaud the Commission on the Restitution of
Land Rights for achieving this historical mission of restoring land, human
dignity and respect to these historically disadvantaged South Africans, whose
ancestral land was brutally dispossessed as a result of racially unjust
laws.
Ladies and gentlemen I hope therefore that you understand and share my
elation when I quote the founding document of our freedom and democracy when it
says "People shall not be robbed of their cattle, and forced labour and farm
prisons shall be abolished." Today we all bear witness to the righting of the
wrongs, to the return of respect and human dignity, to a people who were
unjustly robbed of these noble qualities. A few weeks ago, we had a similar
opportunity to restore land to the people when we bestowed land back to the
rightful owners the Bakwena Ba Mogopa not very far from here.
I am certain therefore that none shall dare contest my assertion when I say
we are beginning to live the ideals of the Freedom Charter dating back to 1955,
as well as living the principles of our Constitution, which calls upon us,
amongst others, to recognise the injustices of the past and enter into a
durable partnership for reconstruction and development with all sectors of our
society.
We will stop at nothing to ensure that indeed the land is shared among those
who work it. This is our commitment to the people and we are now honouring it
today. I am proud to bear witness to this historical occasion and wish the
community of Vogelfontein happy returns on this agricultural investment.
I thank you.
Issued by: North West Provincial Government
16 September 2006
