Avuxeni, Aa, Thobela, good morning.
Programme Director,
Hon Executive Mayor of Vhembe District Municipality,
Mayor for Makhado Municipality,
Mayor for Greater Giyani Municipality,
Office of the Regional Land Claims Commissioner,
All the chiefs present,
All Land Claim Committees present,
Land claimants, I greet you all.
We have gathered here today to celebrate a great achievement by our democratic government, the finalisation of land claims by Mavambe, Xigamani, Phaphazela, Nkuri and Tshimbupfe communities.
The land claims have since been lodged with the Office of the Regional Land claims Commissioner: Limpopo before 31 December 1998. It is a great pleasure to gather here at Malamulele Stadium to celebrate the settlement of these land claims. It should be noted that the above mentioned communities have lodged their land claims separately.
The Mavambe and Phaphazela communities have lodged their land claims on the farm Molenje 204 LT known as Mulenzhe Piet Booi, Shigamani community was removed from Tshitungulwana village, (Matlicatt of Murzia Fera 25 LT, Alverton 26 LT, Langerverwacht 27 LT) and Nkuri community was removed at Davhana, Hanani and Makhasa villages (Locatie van De Knopneuzen 230 LT, Locatie Van Tabaans 55 LT and Niewevlakte 58 LT).
The above land claims were researched and the Office of the Regional Land Claims Commissioner: Limpopo accepted the land claims lodged by Mavambe, Phaphazela, Shigamani and Nkuri communities as they met the acceptance criteria in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994) as amended, read with Rule 3 of the Rules Regarding the Procedure of the Land Claims Commission, and therefore considers the claims to be “prima facie valid”.
The claims were published in the Government Gazette in 2007.
The dispossession of the five communities involved physical and forced removal of people who were Tsonga-speaking in areas that were generally declared areas for occupation by Venda-speaking people. At the centre of these removals was an obsession of the apartheid government about separate development and so-called Bantu self-government.
The consequence of the removals was the establishment of the deplorable Gazankulu and Venda homelands. Tsonga-speaking and Venda-speaking people have co-existed from time immemorial without any problems. Some of the Tsonga-speaking people used to owe allegiance to Venda Chiefs and Venda-speaking people also used to owe allegiance to Tsonga-speaking Chiefs without any problem. This peaceful co-existence was viewed by the apartheid government as a threat towards white domination.
Consequently, rural areas occupied by our people were compartmentalised into so-called homelands along ethnic lines. People who had been neighbours for many decades were, at a stroke of a pen, turned into enemies. Tsonga-speaking people were moved from areas set aside for occupation by Venda-speaking people and Venda-speaking people were also moved from areas set aside for occupation by Tsonga-speaking people. State organs of the day, instead of being the defenders of the weak, marginalised and vulnerable, became instrumental in the subjugation of our people.
Our people were loaded on GG trucks and their houses demolished at the height of apartheid. They were dumped in the middle of nowhere in the midst of wild animals that had a field day with the little livestock they could salvage. Valuable possessions were destroyed and lost on the way. The people could only ask a simple yet fundamental question: What have we done to deserve this treatment in the land of our forefathers?
This is a very painful past which only a barbaric government can ever mete out against its people. African people were relegated to second or even third class citizens on their ancestral land.
During the removal, the communities were not compensated. The apartheid regime even used agricultural officers to forcefully remove our people. The refusal by the previous government to compensate the African communities reflects the disdain with which the government of the day treated our people.
It is against the backdrop of this unforgivable injustice that our present democratic government would like to offer an unreserved apology to the people of Xigamani, Phaphazela, Mavambe, Nkuri and Tshimbupfe. We would like to say in the words of the father of our nation, Former President Nelson Mandela: “never and never again”. The government that you have put in power is committed to redressing the wrongs of the past.
We will continue to restore the dignity of our downtrodden and marginalised rural communities. Today marks a day on which we right the wrongs of the inhumane apartheid government by giving our people financial compensation in respect of the land rights that they lost when they were abruptly and ruthlessly uprooted from their ancestral land.
The land that the communities have claimed is not feasible to restore to them because there are already other communities residing on it. In the spirit of our Constitution, we will not act like the previous government and cause social disruptions; instead, we will build reconciliation and social cohesion in our communities by compensating the land claimants financially.
We are fully conscious of the fact that the financial compensation that we are giving today is not and will never be sufficient to redress the loss and humiliation that the land claimants that have gathered here today have endured. However, as the government of the people, we are saying this financial compensation is a token of our acknowledgment that you were violated in the past and what the government of the past did was totally wrong. May you use this money to find reconciliation and closure in your lives.
During the forced removals, some of the old people could not bear the pain of being loaded on GG trucks. The loneliness, heartache and grief that befell the victims of forced removals eventually claimed the lives of most of the old people as they were dumped in a barren land infested with wild animals and mosquitoes.
Indeed, yours is a very painful and shameful past that we wish we could quickly forget. Therefore, in order for the spirits of the departed to rest peacefully, please use part of the money to erect tombstones on their graves. We all know that education is the greatest weapon towards economic emancipation. Therefore, utilise the money to educate your children so that they can be a living legacy of your land claim award.
Our government has put rural development at the top its agenda. Accordingly, we appeal that you should utilise some of the money to improve your houses, build fences around your yards so that you can start vegetable gardens. Boreholes can also be sunk with the financial compensation that you are receiving today. Vegetable gardens will ensure food security and improved quality of life for your families. Let the financial compensation stimulate small, medium and micro enterprises in your villages so that we can have vibrant and sustainable communities.
We would like to discourage a tendency by some of families to fight amongst themselves over the financial compensation monies. Let this sincere gesture by our sympathetic government not split families asunder. Instead, let it unite families more than ever before. Let there be reconciliation and peace so that the spirits of those who have fought for this government, which listens to the cries of its people, can rest in peace.
We also want to caution opportunists who might want to take advantage of our elderly land claimants and try to swindle them out of their financial compensation. We are watching you. We will not hesitate to unleash the law-enforcement agencies upon you. Please allow our elderly to enjoy their money without fear or interference.
We have approved an amount of R54 650.00 per claimant household. A total amount of
R13 498 550.00 has been approved by the government to be equally distributed in favour of 247 claimant households of the Phaphazela Community. Today, these claimants will receive their vouchers as all the required administrative processes have been completed.
With respect to the Xigamani Community, a total amount of R6 448 700.00 has been approved in favour of 118 claimant households.
We have approved an amount of R2 568 550. 00 in favour of 47 claimant households in the Mavambe Community.
An amount of R7 377 750.00 has been approved in favour of 135 claimants in the Nkuri Community. Today we will issue vouchers to 135 claimants who have submitted all the required documentation.
In total, an amount of R29 893 550. 00 has been approved in favour of 547 claimant households belonging to the Mavambe, Nkuri, Phapazela, Shigamani and Tshimbupfe Communities.
NB: it must be noted that only 547 households will receive their vouchers today. Other households will receive theirs in due course once all administrative processes have been completed.
Finally, the Deputy President has announced the date for the local government elections which are taking place on 18 May 2011. We would like to edge all the people of South Africa including the claimants here today to go and vote for the government that is ready to listen to you and help you to achieve what you have achieved today.
I thank you.
