Call for action on Limpopo land

2004-09-14 07:11

Marietie Louw

Johannesburg - A call has gone out to establish a "Convention for a Democratic South Africa" for land claims so that the process can be speeded up in the Limpopo province.

Codesa was the body that negotiated a new government in the early 1990s.

Tozi Gwanya, chief land claims commissioner, told Beeld on Monday that talks were needed urgently between land owners, claimants and the land claims commission.

This comes in the wake of the drawn-out claims process involving land in the Magoebaskloof and Hoedspruit areas.

Farmers were extremely upset last year after hearing for the first time that almost the entire Magoebaskloof area, about 70km from Polokwane, had been earmarked for land claims.

In August this year, farmers in the Hoedspruit region were told the same thing about their area.

Gwanya and Mashili Mokono, land claims commissioner in Limpopo, met organised agriculture in Phalaborwa last week.

Plenty of dissatisfaction

Theo de Jager of AgriLetaba said a decision was taken that negotiations along the lines of a "Codesa" were needed.

According to him, there was a lot of dissatisfaction around the land claims process.

One of the biggest problems was that voluntary sellers waited months, if not years, for an answer from the commission.

He said voluntary sellers in the Trichardtsdal area wrote to the commission on May 17 stating their willingness to sell. To date, they had heard nothing, he said and this was unacceptable.

Gwanya said it was not yet clear when the first session of talks would be held.

However, issues relating to claims in the Trichardtsdal, Magoebaskloof and Hoedspruit areas would be given priority.

Meanwhile, Nikiwe Shibambu of the Limpopo land claims commission, said that claims against Magoebaskloof farms belonging to Reserve Bank president Tito Mboweni and former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramathlodi would be published in the Government Gazette this week.

Farmers were earlier upset becaue apparently no claims had been made against the farms belonging to Mbowei and Ramathlodi.

- Beeld