The South African govt has to this point spent R25 billion to settle land claims. Hectares purchased and transferred to land claimants equate to three,9 million.
A lot scepticism alternatively surrounds those figures for the reason that Division of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Building (DALRRD) has but to supply an audited record of land claims.
The figures got at a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday night time via DALRRD minister Thoko Didiza. Outlining analysis findings at the land restitution programme, she stated that between 2019 and 2023, a complete of one 494 claims have been settled.
READ Just about R2 billion spent on failed land reform
Beneficiaries got an choice between cash or land transfers. Didiza stated that for the reason that inception of the land restitution programme, a complete of 83 067 land claims have been settled between 1995 and 2023, which equates to 94% of the old-order claims which were effectively settled.
About 2,3 million folks have benefitted from the restitution.
Talking to Farmer’s Weekly, Dr Theo de Jager, chairperson of the Southern Africa Agri Initiative (SAAI) stated the numbers didn’t upload up. “In his State of the Country cope with, Cyril Ramaphosa stated that 25% of South Africa’s land has been redistributed to black possession.
That’s excess of 3,9 million hectares. Analysis about land possession additional presentations that 26% of all land belongs to the state. That suggests best 41% is within the fingers of white folks.”
Each SAAI and the DA were to courtroom to reserve Didiza to make the record of land claims indexed within the Executive Gazette between 1998 and 2021 to be had in order that the real state of land claims will also be evaluated. Didiza has but to agree to the Top Court docket order.
The DA’s former shadow minister for agriculture, Annette Steyn, had all over her tenure in my view long gone to DALRRD’s workplaces to view the land management database, information of rent agreements and the database of all Proactive Land Acquisition Technique (PLAS) farms.
She was once alternatively refused access and her request denied although she was once a Member of Parliament with complete oversight tasks.
De Jager stated that with out the sort of record, it was once unattainable to carry the dept to account over whether or not land claims with precise claimants existed, or any development have been made.
“There’s a excellent reason govt refuses to agree to the courtroom order: it is going to block imaginable alternatives to fraudulently upload extra claims.”
He cited the Akkerland case, the place land was once expropriated with out repayment (EWC). It was once later discovered that no land claimants existed and due to this fact had no constitutional foundation for EWC.
For the reason that land held important mineral reserves, it was once speculated that the land was once sought after for mining functions.
De Jager stated that hypothesis was once rife that DALRRD didn’t have any whole and verified lists of land claims from which they have been running. “If they may be able to’t produce an inventory – as ordered via the courtroom – then how can they measure development? There hasn’t ever been a proper audit of any figures.
How can one thing so basic to our nation be so poorly documented? We’d like an unbiased audit – South Africa is owed that.”