The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform welcomes the passing of the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill by the National Council of provinces (NCOP). This bill makes changes to the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994. It seeks to re-open the window for persons or communities dispossessed of their land after June 1913 due to past discriminatory laws and policies to lodge claims for their properties.
The Bill will now be submitted to the President for signature. The re-opening of lodgement of claims will take place once amendments to the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 have been signed into law by the President.
The department wishes to inform prospective claimants that claims will only be accepted once the amendments and processes referred to above have taken place. Details on how to lodge claims will be published once the amendments to the Restitution Laws have been finalised.
The department also wants to emphasize that application forms for lodging claims will be distributed free of charge to all qualifying South Africans. The public is therefore warned against individuals who approach prospective claimants offering to assist with the lodging of land claims and charging them a fee. Since the public became aware of the possible reopening, a number of such scams have been reported in some of provinces.
Enquiries:
Linda Page
Chief Director Communication services
Cell: 083 460 4482
Tel: 012 312 9648
Tshepo Diale
Communication Services
Cell: 071 850 1751
Tel: 012 312 8532
