Dear Mzwanele Nyhontso
Ref: 1.DG eThekwini Ms Babhekile Mpisane
Contact details :0823739893

Ref: 2 Mlungisi Mthethwa 0313073114

Claim KRN 2606/99 - no. 220 Pamiet Rd Sydenham sub 8 of lot 39 of farm Wandsbeck no. 835.

My Request :

Minister, kindly investigate and confirm that this land Claim which is over 20 years,will be submitted in time for the March 2025 budget and an equivalent size of land will be earmarked either in the same eThekwini municipality or nearby adjoining municipalities.

My parents have since died without justice being done after the demolition of this property because of the Group Areas Act. No equivalent compensation for the vast land consisting of a church mission , buildings, a Homestead, grazing land for cattle and plantations of vegetable farm for the mission of now almost 50000 congregants. Sadly, this was prime land and it does not exist anymore (a portion of this land is adjacent to the upmarket Woodlands Mall in Westville Durban where we were born.)

Context

We have been made aware that a court ruling instructed the government to finalise all old claims before opening up more applications for Land claims. However, here is a more than 20 year old claim still not resolved.
This 20 year old claim was previously escalated to Minister Thoko Didiza and her department handed my complaint back to the eThekwini local Land and Restitution office. The file has been lying there for over 20 years now.

This claim was already categorised as a "Tenant claim" and was confirmed by the retired Advocate Ngobese who recorded and acknowledged the fact that Apartheid laws at that time did not allow black people to own land and to have title deeds. Advocate Ngobese acknowledged the fact that my late father cannot be penalized for Apartheid laws at the time. He paid for this land, however, he could not get a title deed under his name . It was against the law. However, all supporting documents and affidavits were scrutinized and authenticated for completeness by Advocate Ngobese in the presence of both Mr Mlungisi Mthethwa and myself.

Over the 20 year period I have been constantly advised that my claim is being worked on and each year I was advised that hopefully this year it would be resolved and I would be kept abreast of progress .

I have been pushed from pillar to post for the past 20 years. I have been enquiring if the claim has been gazetted and has it been approved for submission for March 2022 and 2023 budget. However after 20 years waiting for the claim to be approved, in 2023 Mr Mlungisi Mthethwa advised that the claim is still in progress.

Eventually, on further enquiry,Mr Mlungisi Mthethwa advised me that he handed over my file to Ms Babhekile Mpisane,(The DG for land and rural development in eThekwini). He said he thought the claim was currently undergoing a valuation exercise. He requested me to contact Ms Mpisane on 0823739893 to get accurate feedback. I sent Ms Mpisana a message and she advised me that the claim would be resolved soon.She said the file was with Mlungisi Mthethwa.

I went back to Mthethwa who advised me that my Land claim is not gazetted yet due to a change in their business processes. He said he would request the Regional Land Commission (RLCC) to approve the claim so that it is published in the Government Gazette. He said a copy of the letter would be sent to me in a couple of weeks when the commissioner has approved the investigation report (Rule 3 Report). Any follow-up I make, I am told that they will get back to me for the past 20 years.

Honourable Minister, kindly investigate and confirm that this land Claim:

1. Will be submitted for the March 2025 budget.
2. Equivalent size of land will be earmarked in the eThekwini municipality or adjacent municipalities.

In conclusion, your response will be highly appreciated after your investigation into the matter, as I can no longer obtain any response from these officials.

Warm Regards
M.R.Nkosi

For your information:

Article from Minister Thoko Didiza
On the 21 Feb 2024 the following article was published in the newspaper:

"Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza, of the 6th administration said "a total of 83 067 land claims have been settled since the inception of the Land Restitution Programme in 1995 to 2023.

Didiza said the number equates to 94% of the old-order claims that have been successfully settled, ( what about the 4% remaining 20 year old claims still outstanding?). Didiza said about 2.3 million people having benefitted from the restitution.

Presenting the research findings on the evaluation of South Africa's Land Restitution Programme on Monday, Didiza said a total of R25 billion was spent on the purchase and transfer of 3.9 million hectares."
Warm Regards
M.R. Nkosi