DA vows to fight for District Six mandate

The DA in the province has vowed to continue pushing for the mandate for District Six land to be transferred to the provincial government. Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency

The DA in the province has vowed to continue pushing for the mandate for District Six land to be transferred to the provincial government. Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency

Published Feb 1, 2019

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Cape Town - The DA in the province has vowed to continue pushing for the mandate for District Six land to be transferred to the provincial government.

“It's inexcusable that District Six land claimants have been waiting so long for justice while national government sits on its hands,” said the chairperson of the human settlements standing committee, Matlhodi Maseko.

Maseko said the department had been shirking its constitutional obligation to carry out this particular land restitution project in the Western Cape for close to 21 years.

“It is clear that the District Six land restitution project must fall under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements, as the DA-led Western Cape provides land and housing better. Since 2009, 91000 people in the province have received title deeds, the highest number in the country,” Maseko said.

The debate surrounding who controls District Six heated up at the end of last year after the standing committee said an agreement had been reached between the provincial standing committee on human settlements and the Department of Rural Development to transfer the budget for District Six to the provincial Department of Human Settlements. A day later, the department denied such plans existed. Maseko has requested that the minister avail herself at the next standing committee meeting.

Western Cape ANC secretary Faiez Jacobs said: “This is nothing more than a political ploy. We want a speedy resolution on the matter. We want to resolve all the disputes. The DA have in fact sold most of our land to private developers.”

This month, the department will be back in court with the District Six working committee. The Western Cape High Court, sitting as the Land Claims Court, ordered the department to submit a “viable and sustainable development plan” to the court by February 18.

@MarvinCharles17

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