Johannesburg - There is no system in place to keep track of land claims, causing a major problem for the process, according to an SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) report released on Friday.
“A key problem is that there is no conclusive system in place at the moment that will be able to give a claimant, who dutifully lodged a claim before the 1998 deadline, more information regarding the status of the claim,” it said in the report on an investigation into the land restitution process.
According to the report the number of claims said to be outstanding (8733) was not dependable as the system of counting claims had changed so often.
Additionally, not all claims had been gazetted, and the loss of files and documents made it difficult to solve complex claims and “opened the door to actual or perceived manipulation by officials”.
The commission for the restitution of land rights (CRLR) admitted it would be unlikely to cope should the claims process be opened for another five years, as proposed in the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill.
“The CRLR submitted in the follow-up hearing that with the lack of standard operating procedures and the current absence of an electronic system to capture the lodgement of claims, it is unlikely to cope with new developments and new claims,” the report found.
The SAHRC expressed concern at how the CRLR was handling these problems.
Sapa