Land redistribution to be prioritised

The redistribution of land to its original inhabitants is very slow and even the willing buyer/willing seller strategy did not solve anything, with 76% of the land in question still in private hands.

Speaking at Heritage Day celebrations at the Polokwane Cricket Club on Tuesday, premier Stanley Mathabatha said government was now revisiting the programme in order to fast track land claims.

Mathabatha encouraged people to go back to their roots and not be hesitant to express themselves in their own indigenous languages.

The celebration was not entirely successful as it started late and was poorly attended. Most of the attendees were from the Vhembe, Mopani and Waterberg areas. Many people left almost immediately as they were not allowed access to the tent due to a safety certificate not having been issued in time.

ANCYL provincial task team spokesperson, Onica Moloi said it was disappointing to see so few young people at the event. She said the event was meant to attract people from different races as SA was a rainbow nation. “We don’t see any white, coloured or Indian people. Only black people seem to attend heritage events. We still have a big task ahead to mobilise other races to be part of rainbow nation events,” Moloi said.

According to attendees who Review spoke to, the poor attendance could have been because the event started late. Silas Hlongwane from Mopani blamed the poor attendance on the Limpopo government. “The events are scheduled for the morning but they only start in the afternoon. Us poor people who travel far arrive in the morning and are tired and want to go home by the afternoon when the events start,” he explained.