The state plans to delist some farms under claim

The Land Claims Commission expects to delist some farms under gazetted land claims possibly within three months.This follows a recent discussions held by chief land claims commissioner Blessing Mphela and Agri SA over the farmers’ union’s complaints far more properties were gazetted than had actually been claimed.

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The Land Claims Commission expects to delist some farms under gazetted land claims possibly within three months.This follows a recent discussions held by chief land claims commissioner Blessing Mphela and Agri SA over the farmers’ union’s complaints far more properties were gazetted than had actually been claimed.
Agri SA raised cases such as the one in Magoebaskloof where six farms claimed ballooned to over 600 properties gazetted. They pointed out this had a devastating impact on tourism and agriculture.
Mphela told Farmer’s Weekly he had set up a task team to investigate the complaints and encouraged farmers’ unions to submit details of any suspected cases.
During a preliminary investigation in Limpopo, Mphela had already come across several examples where, he said, “portions gazetted are not actually under claim”. “We’re focusing our investigation on the really large claims,” he said. “This is a genuine problem because it stops further investment in those properties.”
Mistakes had been made when commission officials had accepted vague property descriptions from claimants to enlarge community claims or gazetted community claims lodged by workers without occupational rights.
“Where there is no evidence of dispossession we will degazette,” he explained. “It’s not the role of the commission to make claims out of non-claims.”
The task team was instructed to identify clear-cut cases which didn’t meet the basic requirements laid down by the Restitution Act. It stipulates claimants must show they were dispossessed under racist laws or practices, and didn’t receive equitable compensation.
Where grey areas existed the task team would seek legal advice and external expert opinion. “The deciding factor will be that our decisions must be able to stand up in court,” said Mphela.
He declined to be pinned down on when the first delisting would take place or speculate on the number of farms which could be degazetted. But he promised the issue was being treated as extremely urgent. “I estimate it will take about three months to determine the first cases,” he said.
Agri SA deputy president Dr Theo de Jager told Landbou Weekblad recently only 13% of farms gazetted had been bought by the state to date. “In Limpopo it’s less than 10%,” he said.
He said this was because the commission had simply gazetted a large number of properties without much concern for whether the claims on them were valid. It then went looking for willing sellers. Farmers who didn’t sell, and the new owners, must live with the sword of a land claim over their heads. – Stephan Hofstätter