KZN community gets their land back

President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over 4 586 hectares of land to the community of KwaMkhwanazi in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) recently.

“The KwaMkhwanazi community received title deeds, post-settlement packages and support that will assist them to leverage the potential wealth of the land and manage the land sustainably to create opportunities for employment and alleviate poverty.”

The handover took place at a ceremony to mark the successful transfer of land and ownership to the community.

The Presidency said the KwaMkhwanazi community's land dispossession predates the Natives Land Act of 1913, which formalised the alienation of black South Africans from land communities they had inhabited historically.

“As part of government's programme of land reform and restitution, the KwaMkhwanazi community submitted claims for the return of land administered by the King Cetshwayo District Municipality in KZN.The community's successful claim will see 1 656 regain ownership of their ancestral land,” the Presidency said.

The departments of Rural Development and Land Reform; Agriculture; Forestry and Fisheries; Public Works; Public Enterprises; and Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation coordinated the successful transfer and ownership of the land to the community, in cooperation with the stewardship of Inkosi Mkhwanazi.