Cape Town - A list of names of District Six claimants issued by the provincial land claims commission on Sunday has caused an outcry among claimants. The names of claimants from 1995 and 1998, whose claims have not been finalised, are on the list.
“If one seriously considers the list and the implications thereof, then one can safely conclude the commission has not finalised the 1995 and 1998 claims yet. So when do they expect to verify and validate the 2014 and 2016 claims?” said the chairperson of the District Six working committee, Shahied Ajam.
He said it was surprising to note that the list had no identity and claim numbers, and no reference numbers. Names were also duplicated on it. “So how are people supposed to know that they are indeed the ones the commission needs to interview?
"(And) to what end does the commission want to interview these claimants? For example, should it be 1995 and 1998 claimants, then surely the commission had 20 years to get in touch with these people with a view to verify and validate them. So why now all of a sudden? It simply does not add up.”
The list containing 224 claimants was published in the Government Gazette earlier this month. A notice with it urges the claimants to urgently contact the commission.
The working committee said the list was a clear indication of the incompetence of the Land Claims Commission.
The chairperson of the District Six reference group, Gerald Elliot, said the majority of the 1062 verified and validated claimants the group represented were still waiting for restitution.
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform spokesperson Vuyani Nkasayi said: “The reason why the commission is looking for those claimants is because the commission has not been in touch with the claimants for a very long time, and they are unsure whether some of them are dead or alive.”