Resident’s land claim falls on deaf ears
Robin Naidoo, whose family were dispossessed of land in Redhill in 1977 is still waiting for his land claim to be processed.
A PHOENIX resident said he has been pushed from pillar to post in trying to sort out his land claim for the past 26 years. Robin Naidoo, whose family were dispossessed of land in Redhill in 1977 is still waiting for his claim to be processed.
His piece of land, situated on Legacy Road, is now being leased to unknown people confirmed Naidoo.
“Malacca Road was a community of Indian farmers and small households. My family lived on the land on what is now Legacy Road. In 1977, the National Party enacted the Group Areas Act and told my father that we would be moved to Phoenix which had been created specifically for Indians. They gave him R12 000 at the time and said they would be using the land to extend the Redhill Cemetery, but that never happened. I lodged my claim in 1992, and 26 years later I still don’t have my land.
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“Instead what I’ve found is my land and other residents of the Malacca Road community have had their land sold in volition of the land claimants’ rights. I’ve sent countless emails and travelled to the KZN land claims commission for years to get answers as to why there has been no solution to my claim. Where the Malacca Road Informal Settlement now lays, that was land owned by the Indian community who were kicked off it,” he said.
Naidoo claims the problem with his claim now lies with the City who want current market value for the land.
“The current council now says it wants the market value for the land which is around R1-million. And I believe the commission do not have that type of money to purchase the land back. What I don’t understand is how can the City profit by apartheid laws? When president Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement to expropriate the land without compensation, did he mean my land as well?” he questioned.
Chairman of the Greenwood Park CPF, Robin Candy, said he was helping Naidoo to get his land back.
“At the moment we are trying to establish how many people have legitimate land claims. We also want to encourage those who haven’t put in land claims to put pressure on the City and the lands claim commission to make good on their promises,” he said.
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