Old Mbombela land claimants still wait for their payments
Old Mbombela Land claimants are worried that they might even die without receiving their money
Twenty-six years into democracy, the Old Mbombela residents are still waiting for their land claims to be settled.
Bernard Mashego, the chairman of the Old Mbombela Land Claims Committee, told Lowvelder Express that claimants had still not been paid. Mashego and two other claimants who visited this paper, said they are now worried that they might even die without receiving their money.
Read: R93 Million land claim still unsettled
“Most of the beneficiaries have still not been paid after all these years. We believe there is a a lot corruption taking place in that office. We need the officials of the Department of Land Affairs to be investigated and to come clean regarding what has happened to the claimants’ funds,” said Mashego.
He refuted claims made by the department that a majority of the claimants had been paid over the years. “That is not true. No payment was ever received from them in the trust account,” he said.
Speaking to some of the claimants, they also denied having been paid. One of them, George Mathonsi, whose name appears on the list of paid beneficiaries, denied receiving any money from the department.
“I have never received a cent. Where was that money paid to? My name only appears on that list as if I was paid yet I am still waiting,” he stated. They have now asked for Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane’s assistance in the matter.
Also read : R84 million is paid to Kruger land claimants
“We met with representatives of the premier’s office on July 2 and they wanted us to bring our complaints in writing. Once we are done with that report we will hand it over to the premier. We believe in her, as a mother of the province, to see to it that our matter is taken seriously and we are paid what is due to us,” added Mashego.
The claimants’ lawyer, Johann du Preez, who has been working on this issue since 1998, said the Land Claims Court was approached last week.
“We filed papers last week. We have serious concerns on how this matter is being handled. Something is not correct here, the manner in which it is handled is uncalled for,” he said.
On Monday, Zithini Nkosi, spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Regional Land Claims Commission, had requested Mathonsi’s ID number to verify his complaint.
