Deputy President to hand over title deeds to Eastern Cape communities

Deputy President Paul Mashatile in his capacity as Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and Agriculture, will on Friday officially hand over title deeds to the Qelana and Qolombana communities in the Eastern Cape. 

The Qelana and Qolombana communities near Mthatha in the OR Tambo District Municipality, lost the rights to their land through the so-called Betterment Policy of the apartheid-era government.  

Through this policy, the indigenous ownership of the communities was reduced to a “Permission to Occupy” status. 

According to the Presidency, the implementation of the Betterment Policy led to overlapping land rights among these communities which resulted in diminishing sizes of arable and residential sites as well as the re-allocation of various land rights. 

The dispossession of the Qelana community occurred in 1957 and 1963, whereas the Qolombana dispossession occurred in 1936 and 1963.

“Through the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has since settled the land claim, with the claimant communities opting for restoration of their land as a form of redress.

The Qelana and Qolombana title deeds handover ceremony also serves as part of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the enactment of Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994),” said the Presidency. 

Deputy President Mashatile will be joined by the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mzwanele Nyhontso, the Premier of the Eastern Cape Province, Oscar Mabuyane, Mayors, as well as senior government officials. 

The handover ceremony will take place at the Mabeleni Dam outside Mthatha. – SAnews.gov.za