FORMER president Kgalema Motlanthe says the best way to deal with the land issue is through redistribution and not restitution.
Motlanthe was speaking at public hearings held by a high-level panel assessing key legislation this week.
“The land question has been consistently raised in five provinces and we're not surprised that it once again arises in the Western Cape.”
Motlanthe said land is linked to identity and language, which is why representatives of the San and the Griqua often raise land issues.
“They raised the fact that the constitution does not recognise their language and under those factors should be revised.”
The panel, chaired by the former head of state, was set up by Parliament's Speakers’ Forum and the provincial legislatures to examine the efficiency of the country's current laws.
Yesterday, numerous organisations and community members presented their views to the panel sitting in Goodwood, Cape Town.
And on their last day of the hearing, Motlanthe said the biggest issue expressed by those in attendance was unsurprisingly concerns about land, adding the best way to deal with the issue was through redistribution.
“Restitution is limited to people with legitimate claims to land, the processes are laborious and people are expected to give evidence of their claims.
“The best way to deal with this is through redistribution. South Africa’s history is one of dispossession, there was land held in trust and by native groups.
"You cannot just deal with it through one way, you have to deal with it holistically and redistribute.”
Addressing the panel, Chief Cornelius Kok of the Griqua Traditional House urged the government to conduct independent land audits to determine who the true owners of land in the country were.
He explained it is through this process that they can begin to properly give land back to those it rightfully belongs to.
“The government needs to give land back to the Khoi chiefs; they will have fewer problems having done this.
“It is also important that the land audits are done and after that restriction can be placed on the maxim amounts of land one person can own.”
Dr Yvonne Muthien, who is also part of the panel, says the Traditional Khoisan Bill was also a point of contention when compared to KwaZulu-Natal's Ingonyama Trust Act.
Joan Williams of the Khoisan Awareness Group warned unless something was done to seriously reform the current legislation addressing land issues, government might have civil unrest to deal with.
Motlanthe concluded saying people mainly complained about the lack of implementation of existing laws and policies.
The panel will conclude public hearings before compiling a report and submitting it to Parliament.