It has been a long time since the last newsflash in June 2023 and, although much has been done, little has been achieved.
You will recall the newsflash saying:-

Well, sad to say, the pre-trial conference of late June was not held due to the suggested dates being unsuitable for some of the other parties.

A number of efforts were then made to set the pre-trial conference for other dates, notably 17 July, 30 October and 30 November. It appears that none of the dates were suitable for all parties.

It is always difficult to arrange a meeting involving at least 9 separate parties – particularly when those parties have dramatically different agendas. It is proving nearly impossible to arrange a meeting when one of the parties has, as an unstated objective, the wish that no meeting should be held!

In late October the report from “Phoenix” was received and circulated to the various members of the Committee. Each member, individually, is now studying the report with a view to developing thoughts and opinions which will then be discussed in a Committee meeting.
(This is a developing story and more information will be shared at the upcoming AGM.)

1. Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The 2023 annual general meeting will be held on 24 February 2024, at Allengeni in Leeuwenkloof and the venue has already been booked. A Saturday, during daylight hours, has been chosen to allow the maximum number of members to attend.

Although February is much later than is normal for the AGM, the LCAG constitution requires that the AGM should be held within six months of the financial year end.
Full details, together with a notice of meeting, will be forwarded nearer the date.

2. Expropriation Bill
It was previously reported that the draft Expropriation Bill was adopted by the National Assembly on 28 September 2022 and was given to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for consideration.
The NCOP called for presentations and submissions and it is understood the Office of the State Attorney cautioned that the bill was unconstitutional.

On 11th October 2023 Dr Anthea Jeffery, of the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), also made a presentation the NCOP. She said, in summary, that “South Africa needs a new expropriation law, but the proposed Expropriation Bill is unconstitutional, undermines property rights, and poses an enormous risk to the country’s already struggling economy.”

As at the end of November 2023 the draft Expropriation Bill is still before the NCOP.

There is plenty in the following to thoroughly confuse; so it might help to remember that:-

Claims may be of two types (individual claims and community claims), to which different criteria apply.
The Land Claims Court is a different entity to the Land Claims Commission.

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (referred to by LCAG as Land Claim Commission) recently estimated it would take 30 years and cost R170 billion to settle the current backlog of claims!
In a recent case the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned a Land Claims Court judgement.

The Land Claims Commission had initially adjudicated in favour of the claimants (Emdwebu community represented by Bongani Ndumo) and had awarded R92 million in respect of a community claim. Subsequently (following an ‘audit’, and before the money was paid over) the Land Claims Commission reversed the adjudication; on the grounds that the claimant had initially registered the claim as an individual (ie not community) claim in his own name.

The claimants appealed to the Land Claims Court, who found against the Land Claim Commission and upheld the original award. The Land Claims Commission then appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal with the result that the ruling of the Land Claim Court was overturned.

The above matters are updates to the recent previous newsflashes and, for clarity, should be read in conjunction with them.
As a formality I should like to record that the opinions stated above are my own and are made without prejudice to any legal or any other position that may exist insofar as the Broederstroom Land Claim is concerned.

Our bank account details
26778 Land Claim Committee; Standard Bank; Van Der Walt Street PTA.
Clearing Code 010145; Cheque account 410776882.
Please email the deposit slip to accounts@broederstroomlandclaim.co.za. Please use your membership number as a reference.

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are my own and do not necessarily represent those of the Committee or of the appointed legal team.

Newsflash

Released - 19 December 2023