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Profile - Sherna Saayman
STATUS UNKNOWN
THE REALITY: A broken-down house at Auckland village with the beautiful Amatola Mountains in the background.
Eastern Cape families still await feedback from state on land claim lodged 21 years ago, which includes tourist and citrus farming towns.
Twenty-one years after 41 Eastern Cape families lodged a massive land claim, which includes tourist and citrus farming towns, they are yet to receive any feedback on the status of their 1998 claim.
Some of the claimants, who say their forefathers were forcefully removed between 1913 and 1914 from the tourist town of Hogsback and the village of Seymour, which is popular for livestock and citrus farming, have since died.
The claimants lodged the claim in August 1998 with it being certified as valid by the department of rural development and land reform in 2002.
But since then, no update has been given to the claimants, they say.
The department, however, says it is in the process of verifying the direct descendants and the beneficiaries of the claim. The claimants, whose families were removed to the Auckland area in Alice, told the Daily Dispatch they were not interested in being given the land back, but they wanted monetary compensation.
While the claimants do not know the value of the land, they are certain it is worth millions of rands because of the many farms and the tourist attractions in the area.
Mbuyiselo Matye, 81, said it was frustrating that their claim had been “ignored” since 1998.
“This is the land that we are claiming, but we don’t have any power to work this land. We want to get financial compensation, we opted for that.
“We can’t really go back to the land and plough. We only hope for financial compensation and this money belongs to our children and grandchildren.
“Today we can say we have not received anything tangible from government. We urgently need an official to assist us and give us what is due to us. Many of us are in our twilight years.”
Hogsback is nestled high in the Amatola Mountains, while the Auckland residents are at the foot of the mountains.
Matye’s daughter, Judy, said the land was valuated but there was no report on how much it was worth.
“We’ve been waiting regarding the valuation report,” she said.
In June, the community wrote to Eastern Cape land commissioner Nomfundo Ntloko-Gobodo, asking her to intervene.
The department has confirmed its knowledge of the claim, saying the community were claiming 1,116ha.
Department spokesperson Trevor Hattingh said the commission was in the process of verifying the direct descendants and the beneficiaries of the claim. It was targeted for settlement in the fourth quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year, he added.
“The process to follow is the appointment of a valuer to valuate the claimed land and to determine the monetary value of the claim. A total of 41 families are part of the claim.
“The claimant families have not yet agreed to the option of restitution,” Hattingh said.
“They are divided on the options, with some opting for financial compensation, especially the elderly people. Others want restoration of the claimed land. The office has not yet drafted an options agreement, as this has to be done after all legible claimants and beneficiaries have been verified.”
As to allegations that officials had not been assisting the claimants, he said no formal complaint had been made.
Hattingh said a meeting was planned for November 7 between the office of the regional land claims commissioner, the claimant committee of Auckland and the claimants’ attorneys, Ramphele Attorneys, with the intention of resolving the dispute.
We urgently need an official to assist us. Many of us are in our twilight years