Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has revealed that almost 5 000 land claims were rejected by the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights across the nine provinces.

This was revealed after IFP MP Albert Mncwango asked Nyhontso about the work done by the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, also known as the Land Claim Commission, to ensure equitable redress to victims of racially inspired land dispossession.

In his response, Nyhontso said the Restitution of Land Rights received a total of 78 533 claims by the December 1998 cut-off date.

Of these claims received, 71 226 have been investigated and 4 757 were rejected for various reasons.

The breakdown of rejected claims by province is as follows:

Eastern Cape has 394 rejected claims;
Free State 155;
Gauteng 893;
KwaZulu-Natal 808;
Limpopo 357;
Mpumalanga 973;
North West 474;
Northern Cape 282; and
Western Cape 421.

Nyhontso said claims were rejected in the Eastern Cape due to persons not dispossessed of a right in land after June 19, 1913, as a result of racially discriminatory laws or practices.

Some claims were not lodged on or before December 31, 1998, and compensation was found to be just and equitable compensation at the time of dispossession.

In the Free State, similar reasons were provided for the rejection of claims as well as frivolous or vexatious claims being lodged.

The minister stated that there were instances of claims not being lodged by a direct descendant; no proof of rights in land, and no evidence of community claim.

Nyhontso added that apart from dispossession predating 1913 and claims lodged after the deadline, claimants were found to have not been removed as a result of racially discriminatory laws.

“In some cases, there was no dispossession. Some matters are of tenure rights, and others are lodged after 31st December 1998, which was the cut-off date. Some were lodged for jurisdiction rights and not rights lost in terms of the Restitution Act,” he said about claims rejected in Mpumalanga.

Nyhontso said claims were dismissed in Northern Cape because they did not meet the Restitution of Land Rights Act.

“Some claims were lodged after the cut-off date of 31 December 1998 and were found to be non-compliant and numerous claims were not lodged in the prescribed manner.”

Asked about claims lodged in KwaZulu-Natal, he said more than 12 828 land claims were approved since the lodgement of claims.

Only 95 claims were successfully awarded in the province in the 2023/24 financial year while 22 were approved in April.

Nyhontso said post-award support extended to the claimants came to the tune of R780 937 447.55 in grants and R196 279 611.73 in development.

He said the support was given to the claimants through the approval of grant funding and recapitalisation programme.

“The post-settlement support has been transferred to the department under the Land Development Support Unit.”

Cape Times

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Nearly 5 000 land claims rejected