Herschel families at last given title deeds
Twenty-six families who were forcefully removed from Herschel to Ntabethemba in 1975 and 1976 received land and title deeds worth R16m in Zola on Friday.
They are from Zola, Thornhill and Pakamisa. The deeds were handed over by public works and infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille, who said they were registered in 2003 but were never handed over to the families.
The minister was accompanied by deputy minister Noxolo Kiviet.
“We are here to celebrate with you but to also say we are sorry that you had to wait so long because many of the beneficiaries have passed on. But their families and children will receive the title deeds on their behalf.”
Among the 26 families were those of EMLM mayor Thembeka Bunu and technical services portfolio head Mhlangabezi Mangcotywa.
De Lille said they had heard many painful stories of what the elderly had suffered, but the handover of the title deeds was to heal these wounds.
She said the government was trying to bring back dignity to the people by restoring the land to its rightful owners.
“We are aware of the history in 1975 and 1976 when the evil of the apartheid system evicted the people of Herschel and dumped them here. They were promised houses. But when they arrived there were only a few tents.”
She said since the families planned to use the communal land for agriculture and development the local, district, provincial and national governments would work to assist the farming project to succeed.
She said the government’s wish was to ensure that all South Africans benefited from the fruits of the new democracy. “But I must also say to the government do so quickly, the patience of our people is running out,” she said.
Kiviet said the government needed to come up with a way of protecting the land from lawyers who might attach it in order to get the payment they had not received from the beneficiaries.
“The lawyers can turn against the community members and say they are repossessing the land because they are not able to pay. We have to sit with the minister of public works and see what help we can get.”
Kiviet said the gap in handing over the title deeds to the people in the Eastern Cape was still vast. “We have to bring a resolution to the five farms that are left so that we can conclude the land issue of Ntabethemba.”
Department of rural development and agrarian reform MEC Nonkqubela Pieters advised beneficiaries not to sell their land.
Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) acting mayor Sibongile Mbotshane said the beneficiaries had received more than two hectares of land which they could use to develop the Chris Hani area.
“CHDM is the most active in the country when it comes to land transformation. In Kowa we have managed to restore more than 21 farms to the people.
“It is not our programme to bring back the land but we assist the people.”