DALRRD on unresolved land claim issues affecting Safcol and Alexkor; with Deputy Minister

Video The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises convened in a virtual meeting to receive a briefing by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) on the status of the Richtersveld land claim, and the South African Forestry Company Limited (SAFCOL) and Alexkor land claims reports. The Chairperson said that complaints had been received by both SAFCOL and Alexkor about unresolved land claims. The communities had yet to gain access to the R45 million in compensation because of a lack of community structures. Additionally, the DALRRD had been unable to identify the relevant beneficiaries of the amount. At SAFCOL, more than 60% of the land had been subject to claims for over a decade. A statistical overview was provided by the DALRRD to explain the current status of the number of land claims received countrywide, and the difficulty of processing all of them. A list of projects was submitted indicating the claims where SAFCOL was affected. An update was provided by the DALRRD on the time frames and master plan to address these issues. As it stood, the Richtersveld Communal Property Association (RCPA) was under judicial administration. A Deed of Settlement (DoS) had been signed which had resulted in a total of nine structures being established under the Richtersveld community claim. It was established that the dynamics of the Richtersveld entities was one of the factors impacting the RCPA negatively. Members asked the Department to provide solutions to the issues that the entities were facing. They said that many issues had been highlighted, but minimal solutions had been provided. Members also raised concerns about the activities and absence of entities involved in this process, and asked for an extensive overview of the plan and whether it was possible to convene with members of SAFCOL and Alexkor to reach a collective and collaborative solution.