Acting Chief Land Claim Commissioner Blessing Mphela said recently that they need more than Rr17 billion to settle outstanding land claims. Speaking at a media conference at Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West, said exorbitant land prices were posing a challenge to settling claims. “The fact that we continue to spend more money for less hectares because of high prices is a challenge,” he said.
He said that in the current financial year, the commission had spent over Rr726 million on 93 420 ha of privately owned land, with the national average cost per hectare during the period under review being over R7 000. But Mmphela said in KwaZulu-Natal alone the commission spent over Rr329 million for only 16 798ha – over R19 000 per hectare. “After KwaZulu Natal, Mmpumalanga has the highest cost per hectare,“ he said.
Both Pam Golding Properties, the largest independent property company in Ssouth Africa and the estate agency KZN Ffarms Ssales could not confirm Mmphela’s assertion that the commission was paying too much for land, as the commission could not disclose what type of land had been purchased.
Mphela said claims before the Land Cclaims Ccourt remain another challenge to speedy finalisation. Across the country there are a total of 167 claims before the court and up to 50% of them originate from KwaZulu-Natal and Mmpumalanga. Hhe said the lengthy processes involved in dealing with cases before the courts, hinders finalisation until the legal process has run its course.
“Restitution comes face to face with other laws, making it difficult to fast-track the process,” explained Mmphela. “majority of the cases revolve around issues of validity, where landowners have taken the commission to court disputing the legitimacy of claims.”
Other challenges relate to disputes involving communities and traditional leaders. “Some leaders are opposed to the establishment of legal entities for the purposes of settling claims, preferring that the land be handed over to the traditional authority on behalf of the community instead of to Communal Property Associations (CPA),” said Mmphela. He said the commission had identified a need to conduct capacity building initiatives for traditional leaders on the restitution process, including the inner workings of the CcPAs. –
Peter Mashala
