Remarks by Deputy Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mr C.S. Mathabatha, at the handover of title deeds to beneficiaries during the People and Parks Conference
Programme Director, MEC Ms Bitsa Lenkopane from the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, thank you. Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr Willie Aucamp Northern Cape MEC for Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform, Mr Lebogang Motlhaping Gauteng MEC for the Environment, Mr Ewan Botha Other MECs present Director-General of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Nomfundo Tshabalala Acting Director-General of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mr Clinton Hiemann Acting Chief Land Claims Commissioner, Mr Francois Beukman Chairperson of the National People and Parks Community Structure, Mr Japhta Raphadu Distinguished guests, community members, ladies and gentlemen Greetings to you all. Dumelang.
At the heart of the People and Parks initiative, which brings us together at this conference today, lies South Africa’s protected areas network of approximately 12.5 million hectares. This includes national parks, nature reserves and World Heritage Sites, covering about 10.2 per cent of our country’s land surface.
We welcome the continued advancement of the initiative, particularly in view of the strategic role played by the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, and the Commission on Land Rights Restitution, in matters relating to land. Our responsibilities include fulfilling the constitutional imperative to redress the injustices of past racial discrimination, to ensure equitable access to land and natural resources, and to advance rural development.
We look forward to the success of the Tenth People and Parks Conference, held under the theme, “Harnessing nature-based wealth through inclusive biodiversity conservation for sustainable development”. The outcomes of this conference should strengthen partnerships across society to conserve, expand and sustainably use land and biodiversity resources under conservation. It should also promote inclusive growth through biodiversity-based economic development, while facilitating knowledge exchange, policy review and innovation in comanagement practices.
Today, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development fulfils an important part of its mandate, also within the initiative, through the handover of title deeds. This forms part of our broader programme to restore land rights and support affected communities.
Approximately 158 land claims were lodged on protected areas, including national parks. Of these, 88 claims have been settled through financial compensation, land restoration and determinations of compliant or non-compliant status, respectively. Among the settled claims, 71 relate to conservation land and 15 to national parks.
A total of 24 claims were lodged on national parks across five provinces, namely the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State and Northern Cape.
Financial compensation settlements consisted of two key elements. These included compensation for improvements lost during dispossession and compensation for land value. In this, beneficiation schemes aimed at empowering affected communities with development rights both inside and outside the parks have a key role to play.
Targets for settling claims were set for finalisation between successive People and Parks Conferences. Within this targets-framework, 66 claims were earmarked for completion. Of these, 53 have already been transferred, while the Commission is currently processing the remaining 13 claims.
In this process, the Free State, Mpumalanga and North West provinces successfully transferred targeted properties. The Eastern Cape transferred portions of Dwesa-Cwebe, while work continues in other provinces.
Against this background, it is important to acknowledge existing challenges. These include resource constraints affecting post-settlement support, mostly impacting non-agricultural projects. Internal family and community disputes also remain a significant challenge and often delay the finalisation of lodged claims.
Our ongoing work focuses on overcoming the challenges we face while finalising outstanding claims. At the same time, legislative amendments are being implemented to strengthen compliance by communal property associations. The latest development in this regard was the introduction of the Registrar of Communal Property Associations and the associated compliance-ensuring functions.
Allow me to conclude by congratulating the communities who will receive their title deeds today.
They are, from the Eastern Cape, Dwesa, the Cwebe Community, with one property located within the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve, and the Caguba Community, with three properties within the Silaka Nature Reserve.
From the Free State, the Qwaqwa Community, with three properties within the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
From the North West, the Ga Habedi Community, with one property within the Borakalalo Nature Reserve, and the Mooke Communal Property Association, with several portions within the Borakalalo Nature Reserve.
I will now invite the Acting Chief Land Claims Commissioner, from the Commission on Land Rights Restitution, and the Acting Director-General of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, to call upon the beneficiaries, through their representatives, to come forward one by one so that I may hand over their title deeds.
#ServiceDeliveryZA
