Land claimants to get reports

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DRDLR) through the Regional Land Claims Commission (RLCC) will present land claimants and stakeholders in Capricorn, Sekhukhune and Waterberg districts with a report detailing the progress made so far in settling land claims next year.
The department recently, during a land claim progress report campaign, visited affected landowners, organised lobby groups and community representatives in NkowaNkowa community hall in the Mopani area.
In Mopani, the report focused on the
7 218 claims lodged in Limpopo before the 1998 cut-off-date and newly lodged claims submitted during the reopening of land claims between July 2014 and July 2016, totalling
16 121 claims. Of the 599 claims lodged before the 1998 deadline in Mopani district alone, 343 claims have already been settled in full through financial compensation at a cost close to R656 215 474.
Spokesperson of the DRDLR in Limpopo, Avhashoni Magada said figures indicated that 157 484 084 ha of land were restored in Mopani district either in full or in portions at a cost of R1 674 281 404. “The outstanding claims in the district reflect a total number of 162 of claims lodged before the 1998 deadline, some of these claims were referred for further research, others are under negotiations, and a number of claims were referred to court for adjudication while a sizeable number of claims were dismissed for non-compliant. It should be noted that awarding financial compensation to land claimants is one of the options in the restitution programme and does not in any way defeat the purpose of programme.”
He added that restitution option for redress, can take the form of restoring land rights, providing alternative land or financial compensation, or any combination of these. “The total budget spent in the form of land restoration, providing alternative land and grant funding to develop the land, financial compensation or any combination of these option amounts to
R2 468 091 740,” he remarked.

Story: Herbert Rachuene
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