Yesterday, the Western Cape Standing Committee on Human Settlements heard directly from District 6 claimants about their experience regarding the land claims and housing process which has been characterised by inefficiency and a lack of communication from the national Minister Thoko Didiza’s Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. The Committee received written as well as oral submissions from District 6 beneficiaries and their families, with several claimants deciding to brief the committee in-person.
Despite being invited to engage with residents yesterday, the Minister and her department chose to hide behind bureaucracy rather than face the people most impacted by their incompetency. The Department insists that if we attempt to get answers for District Six claimants on this crucial matter, the NCOP must be approached and that they are not accountable to the provincial legislature. Whilst we never claimed the Department accounts to the legislature, they are accountable to the District Six claimants who have been waiting for answers for more than 25 years. We maintain that it would only be right for Minister Didiza to come clean before claimants and address those affected here in the Western Cape.
MPP Matlhodi Maseko says: “The mandate to bring restitution and justice to claimants in the Western Cape lies solely in the hands of Minister Didiza’s department, and with 25 years passing since claimants first applied for restitution, it is shameful that more than two decades down the line claimants are still searching for answers. The Western Cape Government constructed more than 8 000 housing opportunities last year alone, while it has taken Minister Didiza and National Government more than two decades to construct more than 300 units.
Submissions by District 6 claimants raised several issues, including:
- The loss of documentation from claimants who first applied for restitution between 1994-1998. They have been forced to re-apply to the Department on multiple occasions. With no record of these previous applications, claimants have been moved to the bottom of the list and are classified as new applicants. All applications from new applicants cannot be processed until the original application submitted before the end of December 1998 are finalised.
- The continued lack of communication from Minister Didiza’s Department of when claimants can expect to occupy the 108 housing opportunities on Hanover Street. The Department announced that the 108 beneficiaries would be able to move into their units in June 2021, after several delays. To date, no claimants have been moved into these units and nearly 6 months on, claimants have yet to hear anything from the national Department.
- Claimants families have expressed concern about the impact that the slow progress and a lack of communication have had on the health of their loved ones, and fears that elderly claimants will not be able to return home.
When describing their experience of the land claims and restitution process, one claimant family member said: “Instead of restoring my dad’s dignity (and the dignity of my dad’s family), the DALRRD has actually caused more damage. Our experience with the interaction with some officials from DALRRD is very disappointing and very sad because they do not treat people with empathy.”
Another claimant added: “There seems to be a complete lack of urgency and commitment on the part of the Department despite the fact that claimants have waited in excess of 26 years to return to the area from whence they were forcibly removed so many years ago. The fact that most of the original claimants have already passed on and that current survivors are continuing to pass away… the department remains uncaring and unmoved.”
The Standing Committee took the resolution yesterday to extend the submission process until the end of January 2022 as a number of claimants approached the Committee after the initial deadline in October. We will continue to monitor the situation and call on the national Department to bring justice and restitution to those that were forcible removed from their homes more than 40 years ago.”
