In a major stride towards correcting historical injustices, government has officially handed over title deeds to the Gaesegwe, Barolong ba ga Rapulana, Barolong ba ga Phoi and Barolong ba ga Seitshiro communities at the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in the North West province.
The day – billed as a “day of celebration” by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who presided over the ceremony – marks a milestone in government’s efforts to accelerate land reform.
“We are celebrating because the dignity of communities is restored. For many of you, this day has been a long time coming. Today is the culmination of a struggle for land that has become a reality.
“When Chief Gaesegwe Henry Phoi submitted his community’s land claim on 9 July 1996, he was acting on a constitutional promise this country had just made to itself,” the President said on Friday.
South Africa’s Constitution guarantees that any person or community dispossessed of land after 19 June 1913 is entitled to restitution or equitable redress.
The apartheid government’s 1913 Natives Land Act stripped millions of black South Africans of their land, assets, livelihoods and communities, with the effects of that brutal law still visible across the country today.
“Our Constitution, which was adopted 30 years ago, says that any person or community dispossessed of land after 19 June 1913 is entitled to restitution of that property or equitable redress.
“So, when I hand over these title deeds today, I am fulfilling a Constitutional responsibility,” President Ramaphosa said.
More than 368 title deeds were handed over to families, transitioning their occupational rights into secure, formal ownership.
Furthermore, some 20 local farmers who previously leased state land received full freehold titles, effectively elevating them from tenants to commercial landowners.
Additionally, the President handed over title deeds to three Communal Property Associations who represent communities who were brutally removed from their land by force and have “spent decades working through the legal and administrative processes to get it back”.
“A title deed in a drawer does not on its own transform a family or a community's fortunes. A farm with no equipment, no water, no capital and no support will not meet people’s needs. It does not close the inequality gap and it does not build the rural economy we need. The title deed is the foundation on which we must build.
“That is why we are handing over productive assets and confirming that post-settlement support is in place. We are committed to making these farms work.
“We are committed to ensuring that the townships being established at Setlagole and Madibogo have the sites they need for businesses, community facilities and government services,” the President said.
The President assured those that are still waiting for their Constitutional promise to be fulfilled that “we have not forgotten you”.
“In 1913, the Natives Land Act took from our people what they had built over generations. In 1996, the democratic Constitution gave a clear instruction to return the land to individuals and communities.
“Today, we are using the laws and institutions of our democracy to restore what was taken.
“We are not only correcting a historical injustice. We are building a fairer, more sustainable and more prosperous future for these communities. And in doing so, we are building a better country for all,” President Ramaphosa concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
