Land claimants get R56m

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File photo

Published Jul 13, 2015

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Durban - Land claimants from Roosboom, near Ladysmith, received about R56 million in compensation at the weekend.

This was one of the largest payouts made by the provincial land claims commission, said the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Cyril Xaba, on Saturday.

He said two other claims in the same area had been settled in 2006 and 2007. In the first, 350 former tenants had received R12.278m and then 11 former land owners had got R1.68m.

In a function at the Ezakheni C Community Hall, financial compensation vouchers were handed to 581 claim- ants.

They represented 1 250 beneficiaries, 850 of whom were women and 22 of whom were disabled.

Xaba said Roosboom had once been known as a “black spot”.

According to the 1936 Native Trust Land Act, the term referred to farms that were black owned in areas where the surrounding farms were white owned.

The aim then was to remove black spots and a process of forced removals had begun in 1956. At the time, 363 areas in the province were identified as black spots.

Xaba said the removal of the Roosboom community represented an important chapter in the province’s history.

“It is a story that must be taught to our children so that they understand our painful past and appreciate the freedom we enjoy today.”

Xaba said the apartheid government had applied a different tactic to force the Roosboom community out of the area. No new houses could be built and existing houses could not be extended without permission from authorities. When sought, permission was refused and the homes began to deteriorate and fall apart.

By 1972, the township of Ezakheni had been built and expropriation notices had been served on Roosboom families. The majority were then moved to the township.

He said a big blow to the families was the discovery that they could not take their cattle, goats or sheep. They also found the plots of land were so small they could no longer continue with subsistence farming.

The Mercury

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