PASSING OF RESTITUTION OF LAND RIGHTS AMENDMENT BILL
The Office of the Chief Whip welcomes the amendments of the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994 by the National Assembly, which represents another important milestone in restoring the dignity of the poor and reversing the legacy of apartheid.
The Act will re-open the lodgement of land claims for restitution for another period of five years, which is anticipated to close in 2019. The re-opening is a result of various categories of persons and communities whose lands was taken as a result of colonialisation and apartheid laws and were unaware of the restitution process that closed on 31 December 1998.
This Act will also give an opportunity to claim land to those who were dispossessed of land before the year 1913, such as the Khoi San communities, including those dispossessed through betterment planning schemes and not allowed to lodge their claims by the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR).
This Act will help us reverse the legacy of apartheid and to accelerate the restoration of land back to the rightful owners. Colonialism and apartheid were rooted in the dispossession of land from the African people, the destruction of African farming and the super-exploitation of wage labourers, including farm workers and their families.
This re-opening of land claims for those who missed the deadline will be guided by a just and equitable principle of compensation as opposed to the willing buyer and willing seller system.
The system is anticipated to be faster and efficient because the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform will be using better and advanced technological systems; and there will be additional employees working on this project. This Act will also strengthen the office of the land claims court and it will be led by the Judge President of the High Court, who will be assisted by Judges of the High Court.
The African National Congress identified land reform and rural development as key priorities of our socio-economic transformation project. This legislation is firmly in line with our key priority area as identified in our 2009 Manifesto and the ANC's 52nd conference. The Office the Chief Whip also welcomes the passing of several equally important Bills today by the House. The following Bills were passed today:
Infrastructure Development Bill: This Bill will provides for facilitation and coordination of the public infrastructure development, which is of significant economic and social importance to our people. It will ensure that infrastructure development in South Africa is given priority in planning, approval and implementation, and ensure development goals of the State are promoted through infrastructure.
Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill: The Bill seeks to strengthen control over the regulation of the private security industry, including security services rendered from South Africa to other countries.
Rental Housing Bill- The rights and obligations of tenants and landlords must accordingly be clearly demarcated in rental housing legislation so as to enable these parties to know and understand their rights and obligations.
The ANC believes that these amendments will make the Act more user friendly to both landlords and tenants, and that the section on Tribunals and the addition of appeals within the Tribunal will provide better redress for the poor and vulnerable at affordable prices.
The Office of the Chief Whip is confident that we will be able to qualitatively and meaningfully process a decent number of pieces of legislation before this parliament rises.
Statement issued by the Office of the Chief Whip, February 26 2014
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