Claim Details

	COMMISSION ON RESTITUTION OF LAND RIGHTS IKHOMISHANA YOKUBUYISELWA KWAMALUNGELO OMHLABA KOMISHINI E MABAPI LE PUSETSO YA DITSHWANELO TSA LEFATSHE KOMMISSIE OP HERSTEL VAN GRONDREGTE
Regional Land Claims Commission: Gauteng and North-West 9 Bailey Street, Arcadia, PRETORIA, 0002 Private Bag X 03, ARCADIA, 0007 Tel: (012) 310-6500 Fax: (012) 324-5812 Our ref.: S 0011 and S 0018

ACCEPTANCE REPORT - HARTEBEESTHOEK 498 JQ, LEEUWENKLOOF 480 JQ, BROEDERSTROOM 481 JQ AND WELGEGUND 491 JQ (INCLUDING WELDABA 567 JQ)

ACCEPTANCE OF THE CLAIM IN TERMS OF THE RESTITUTION OF LAND RIGHTS ACT, (ACT NO. 22 OF 1994)

8.1. Compliance of Claim with Land Claim Form Requirements

The claim has been lodged on the prescribed claim form and in the prescribed manner. The claimant(s) are the original dispossessed and the descendants of the originally dispossessed persons and entities, that is Mekgareng Community. The claim was lodged by Mr Mafeta Harold Lebogo on behalf of the Mekgareng Community. The Commission received two claim forms by the 30th December 1998. The other claim form was lodged by Cornelius Sejo Godfrey Makuwe also on behalf of the Mekgareng Community.

8.2. Description of the Claimed Rights in Land

The claimant(s) are claiming for ancestral rights that were diminished over time to labor tenancy until the forced removals. Therefore the claim is based on unregistered/informal rights.

8.3. Dispossession in terms of Racially Based Laws, Acts or Measures

The farms were dispossessed in terms of the Development Trust Act (Act 18 of 1936). In terms of Development Trust and Land Act (Act 18 of 1936) any area which was owned/occupied by African people outside the scheduled and released areas, was to be regarded as "Black Spots". These Black spots had to be removed from white areas by buying the land from the African owners, providing alternative land within the released area and in the case of resistance from the Africans, expropriation will follow.

8.4. Date of Dispossession

In terms of the Section 2 of the Restitution of Land Act, Act No. 22 of 1994 (as amended), the dispossession of the land rights claimed must have taken place on or after 19 June 1913. The claimants were forcibly removed from 1962, they were not expropriated at the same time, others received "Trekpasses" in 1965. Thus the dispossession took place after 19 June 1913 as indicated in paragraph 5.

8.5. Just and Equitable Compensation received

In this instance the claimants submitted to the researcher that the previous law could not allow them to negotiate, because the Act gave whites power to have control over the land. Those who were given notices had to seek alternative accommodation for themselves.

8.6. Date of Lodgment of the Claim

These claims were lodged with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights in November and December 1998. It was therefore lodged within the prescribed time frame (i.e. before 31 December 1998).

8.7. Status of the Claim

The claim is neither frivolous nor vexatious. The claim contains neither information, which has no useful purpose, nor information that will or might have caused annoyance to any other person or group of persons or institutions etc. The claimants were dispossessed of unregistered rights in land as indicated above.

8.8. Order by the Land Claims Court

No order has been made by the Land Claims Court in terms of Section 35 of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, (Act 22 of 1994), as amended pertaining to rights in land for the property being claimed.

8.9. Gazetting of the claim and notification of interested parties

The Regional Land Claims Commissioner, based on the above, accepted the claims as valid. The claims were thereafter gazetted and published in the Government Gazette. It was published as Gazette Notice No. 26778 of 2004 of 17th September 2004. Due to lack of information pertaining to contact details of the current land owners, posters were placed in the vicinity of the claimed land.

REGIONAL LAND CLAIMS COMMISSION -
GAUTENG AND NORTH WEST PROVINCE
DATE: 06 OCTOBER 2004

"The power of the collective is far greater than the power of one"