Courts stand firm on land issues

Resolving the land issue is going to be, by far, the biggest challenge faced since 1994 by the ANC government … and by all South Africans. The problem has the potential to spark anger and violence if not dealt with quickly and equitably.

Yet, we wait anxiously for the execution of the ANC’s expropriation without compensation (EWC) land redistribution principle. And, while we wait, it seems it is business as usual in the mechanisms being used for resolving land claims.

Ironically, while EWC is still being formulated, there has been an important court case relating to valuations of land which is the subject of a claim by former residents moved off it during the apartheid era.

This case – brought by affected land owners in KwaZulu-Natal – related to the value of land as calculated by the valuer-general. Up to now, the valuer-general’s word has been regarded as almost the last say when it comes to valuations.

However, the owners of this productive land argued that the R3 million value placed upon it was only half what it was worth.

The court agreed with their legal arguments and found that the valuer-general’s view would act only as a “recommendation” for the minister, and that aggrieved land owners could still ask for a decision by the Land Court.

That decision puts the onus squarely on government to negotiate realistic amounts for land taken in reform cases. Not only that, the government settled before the case was finalised in terms of the price … and ended up paying even more (R8 million) than the owners had been asking for.

Although no legal precedents were set in the case, it showed that the rule of law and the courts are still strong when it comes to land matters.

We hope this remains the case.