The Barolong Boo Mariba Traditional Council has undertaken to use profitably the six farms they received as part of the land that was stolen from them through the 1913 Land Act. The farms valued at R60 million were handed over to the community by North West Premier Thandi Modise at a celebration in Dalyspan Farm near Mabule in Ratlou Local Municipality over the weekend.
There was exhilaration when the elated Premier Modise belted out a popular freedom song about the land, Mabayeke Umhlaba Wethu, loosely translated, “the land must return to its rightful owners.”
Modise, who sang the tear-jerking song in high spirit to the finish, said the government will make sure that all the land is returned and urged the traditional council to use the land fruitfully and preserve it for future generations.
“Never and never again must this country experience some of the things that many of us are still reeling from. Hold on to the land we return to you today. Don’t allow people to steal it. We must preserve our land for our children. It was stolen and it is being returned. Don’t let it slip through our fingers again,” said Premier Modise on Saturday.
Speaking on behalf of the traditional council, Kgosi Kopano Lekoko said he was thankful to the government for having had the wisdom to resort to negotiation to obtain the land.
“We are thankful to the ANC led government that the land was being returned without bloodshed. There are many farms in the land that we have claimed.
So far only six farms have been returned. We owe it to the government to demonstrate to them that we will use it profitably to feed our people, the country and the international market. The work on the farm begins as soon as this celebration ends,” said the jubilant Kgosi Lekoko.
Community member, Olebogeng More, 62 said it has been a long wait and the hand-over shows that patience is virtue. “We are going to safeguard the land of our forefathers. No one will do what they like here. Our cattle will no longer starve. We are back on course after many years of oppression and land dispossession. Our dignity will be restored,” he said.
“We will now be able to sleep. To ours the land is an important asset. But it is also more than just a commodity. It’s also about our identity and it’s therefore consecrated because if you are evicted from your land you are dehumanised,” said 63 year old granny Tshenolo Tlhogi.
Kobus Odendaal, 77, who bought the Dalyspan farm seven years ago from another farmer said he and his wife Susan are very happy for the community although they will always miss the good life they had at the farm. “It was a very good farm, very productive.”
Premier Modise, who also toured the farms to inspect facilities available, said her administration is hard at work looking at various models to make life easy for farming communities and people in rural areas in general.
She said in addition to availing training opportunities through the Kgora Training Centre which seeks to equip subsistence and aspirant farmers with farming skills, she plans to lead a delegation to Thailand where they will investigate, among others, solar opportunities to make it easy for people in far-flung areas to have cheaper electricity.
Premier Modise who was accompanied by Mayor of Ratlou Local Municipality Councillor Victor Mance thanked the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti for his tireless effort in driving the land restitution programme.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Spokesperson
Cell: 083 629 1987
Tel: 018 388 3705
Fax: 018 388 3157
Email: LKgwele@gmail.com
