NELSPRUIT – The legal and financial constraints faced by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform will see future land claims take time.
Mr Mtobeli Mxotwa, spokesman for the department, has confirmed that Londolozi Game Reserve, which borders the Kruger National Park (KNP) is part of another land claim filed in the area. He said the privately owned game reserve will form part of the next two phases of land restitution targeting the broader Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
The first of the three phases was Mala Mala Game Reserve. Last week, Mr Jacob Zuma handed over the title deed to the N’wandlamharhi Community Property Association (CPA) in Bushbuckridge. The land claim, which was concluded in November when the department, CPA and game reserve reached an agreement, took six years to finalise.
According to the Mala Mala deal, 13 184ha was sold at a cost of R1,1 billion. A transitional agreement will see the former owners continue to manage the reserve while a co-management agreement is negotiated to ensure that business operations remain sustainable. In the meantime, the CPA will be paid R700 000 occupational rent per month.
The R1,1 billion paid by the department to obtain the land, makes it the biggest land-claim deal in the country’s history and raised concerns that the if the deal set a benchmark, land restoration could become unaffordable. In the 2012/13 financial year, the department spent R1,6 billion to settle 549 claims. In the previous year, less than R1 billion was spent buying back land to settle 252 claims.
During the presentation of the ANC’s election manifesto on Saturday, Zuma reiterated the ANC’s intention to scrap the willing buyer, willing seller principle, saying it was unsuccessful.
Mxotwa also said the department faced financial and legal constraints in settling land claims. “The next two phases will not be rushed,” he said. “We will take it year by year, step by step.”
“As part of the next two phases, we are negotiating with the private owners. It is a slow and legal process to return the land to the original people who were dispossessed and forcefully removed. People want their land back. It was an emotional and painful loss.”
Mxotwa confirmed that some of the land forming part of the claims of the next phases, are located inside the KNP. In September, the cut-off date by which to lodge land claims was extended to December 31, 2018.
