Communal land in SA ‘belongs to people’

The draft Communal Land Tenure Bill, which is before Parliament, together with the current push for expropriation of land without compensation will ensure that land is returned to those who were deprived under apartheid, says Deputy President David Mabuza.

The draft Communal Land Tenure Bill, which is before Parliament, together with the current push for expropriation of land without compensation will ensure that land is returned to those who were deprived under apartheid, says Deputy President David Mabuza.

Responding to questions in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Mabuza said that in terms of customs land under traditional leadership was in fact owned by the people.

“[However], there are conflicting views [with some saying the land belongs to traditional leaders] … therefore the government is seeking to address this issue in a way that brings certainty. The Communal Land Tenure Bill will ensure that.”

The bill in the main provides for the transfer of communal land to communities; the conversion into ownership of land rights to communities that own or occupy such land; and the transfer of ownership to communities of land acquired by the state to enable access to land on an equitable basis.

The ANC resolved in December 2017 that traditional leaders should relinquish custodianship of the land held in trust by the government. Former president Kgalema Motlanthe’s report of the High Level Panel of Assessment of Key Legislation of Fundamental Change recommended the disbandment of the Ingonyama Trust.

Traditional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal, including King Goodwill Zwelithini, have said they will oppose any attempts to disband the trust, which owns 30% of the land. The trust was established in 1994 to manage the land traditionally owned by the provincial government. The king is the only trustee.

Motlanthe’s report suggested that all the land under the trust should be surrendered to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to make equal distribution possible.