Rural Development and Land Reform responsible for land reform successes in the Western Cape
The ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform wishes to clarify that the settlement of land claims is a national government competency and as such, the Department through the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, is solely responsible for the settlement of claims, through-out the country.
The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, through the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, approves the settlement of all claims from across the country, including those in the Western Cape province.
It is therefore entirely incorrect to assert that it is the provincial government of the Western Cape, led by the Democratic Alliance, was responsible for the success of the settlement of land claims in that province. The Democratic Alliance, in a media statement recently stated that it was responsible for the high number of settled claims in the Western Cape - a claim which is simply not true.
The truth of the matter is that credit for the settlement of claims is due to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, who is leading and approving the settlement of these claims.
It is important to note that the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act 2014 (which was signed into law by President Zuma in July 2014, made provision for the re-opening of the land claims process and extended the period for lodging a land claim for five years, from 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2019. Since the re-opening of the Land Claims process 91 507 South Africans who suffered land dispossession as a result of past racially biased laws and policies, have lodged claims for restitution.
During the recent tabling of its 2014/15 Annual Report to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform, the Commission noted the following in relation to the settling of claims:
A total of 428 claims were settled nationally, 241 of which were in urban areas while 187 benefitted rural communities. The settlement of these claims benefited 78 600 beneficiaries; 6 244 of those being female-headed households.
The largest number of claims were settled in the Western Cape with a total of 194 followed by the Eastern Cape (79); and KwaZulu-Natal (59). It was explained to the committee that the nature of claims differs from province to province and from region to region.
In the Western Cape, the vast majority of claims are urban in nature, where documentation and research is relatively easier to obtain. However, in other provinces, there are more complex community claims, which require an entirely different strategy to achieve settlement.
Community claims are more complex in nature and pose greater challenges to bring to settlement. This is to take nothing away from the great work being done in the Office of the Regional Land Claims Commissioner in the Western Cape.
The difference between the types of claims settled is well illustrated by the expenditure on the various settlements, where the highest achievers are KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, with the Western Cape only coming in fourth. Deputy Minister Mcebisi Skwatsha says the DA in the Western Cape is seeking to deliberately mislead the public by claiming for itself the very clear successes of the national government.
“It is a disturbing trend by this party and the people of South Africa must be aware of this. It can only point to a paucity of deliverables of its own, if it needs to be claiming credit for work it has had absolutely nothing to do with” the Deputy Minister added.
“It would appear that the Hon Beverley Schafer of the DA has little understanding of the Constitution or the workings of government, otherwise she would know that credit for the restitution of land claims successes is due entirely to, the programs of the ANC”, Skwatsha concluded.
Enquiries:
Linda Page
Tel: 012 312 9319
Cell: 083 460 4482
E-mail: linda.page @drdlr.gov.za
