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News

PRETORIA N EWS
THURSDAY MAY 16 2013

Lawyers hope to set land reform precedent

ZELDA VENTER HIGH COURT REPORTER
LAWYERS for Human Rights (LHR) are set on paving the way for future land reform and creating a precedent on how displaced communities will settle with support from the government in future. LHR will soon turn to the Land Claims Court where a proper resettlement plan will be placed on the table. The cost of resettlement will also come under the spotlight, as up to now the government had failed the communities who lost their land during apartheid, LHR lawyer Louise du Plessis said. The case that will test the waters in this regard is that of the Baphiring community , which has been embroiled in legal proceedings with the government for 15 years regarding their lost land. Earlier this month their plight was presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, where the judges expressed strong views about the governments lack of successful resettlement of communities on land they had lost during apartheid. The judges referred to failed land reform projects as a time bomb and criticised the government for the appalling manner in which it had dealt with the Baphiring land claim. The Baphiring is a traditional community living in the North West Province. They owned land which they referred to as Old Mabaalstad situated about 20km west of the town of Koster, which they bought in the 1880s. As a result of the provisions of the Black Land Act of 1913 and later the Native Trust and Land Act, this land did not fall within an area scheduled for ownership by black people. The community and their land were therefore considered as a socalled black spot. They were as a result relocated in 1972 to an area about 85km to the north an area which was later to become Bophuthatswana. The land comprised 17 000 hectares and was referred to by the community as New Mabaalstad. At the time of the forced removal, the community consisted of 500 households. The community this month turned to the appeal court as a previous court held their wish to move back to their ancestral land was not feasible. The community disagreed and felt that the government owed them this. Advocate Rudolph Jansen SC, who acted on behalf of the community , told the appeal court that from the evidence of the witnesses who testified on behalf of the community it was clear they had strong social and political emotions around the issue of their historic dispossession. They said they wanted to move back to their ancestral land if given sufficient support by the government to do so. A big portion of the evidence led over the years in the various court applications was spent on just and equitable compensation. Jansen said the relocation was indeed feasible as the market value of the land was affordable to the government and because the landowners were commercial farmers who could be resettled elsewhere. The Baphiring community held the strongest rights that history afforded them, namely freehold. Loss of these rights by black communities should be a strong factor in favour of restoration, said Jansen. He added that the community also had a spiritual connection with their ancestral land. The States attitude was that these people should be awarded the land and should be allowed to keep the compensatory land (New Mabaalstad), but they should not receive the money they were claiming for relocation and resettlement. The landowners in 2005 agreed on a ballpark figure for the land set at R30 million, but this had now moved up to about R70m due to the increase in land prices. In addition to this, the community indicated they would need R65m to be used for resettlement and post-settlement support. This money , they said, would be needed for the establishment of a residential village and accompanying services as well as for assistance in re-establishing agricultural activities. According to Du Plessis, in terms of the States grant system, the community would receive only R2.6m, while the community estimated it would cost closer to R60m to resettle. The appeal court did in principle agree with the community on the issues of their resettlement, but referred the matter back to the Land Claims Court for the parties to lead evidence about a proper resettlement plan and the costs of such resettlement. This case is vitally important to land reform and will create a precedent on how communities will settle in future, she said. According to Du Plessis many communities whose land claims were settled in the past simply did not return to their land because of the lack of financial support from the government. She expressed her hope that the Baphiring case would for once and for all set guidelines in place which would force the government to fulfil its obligations. There can be no doubt that the wish for restoration is strongly driven by a quest for historical justice and that such a quest is legitimate and fair. It is not driven by fanciful aspirations, but rather by political aspirations that underpinned the constitutional bargain which led to democracy . Recognition must be given to the constitutional promise that dispossession of land rights would be one category of injustices that will receive specific legal attention, Jansen said. He referred the court to the many sad tales of those who had to move and their feeling of powerlessness at the time.

Part of Melgisedek building where residents feel abandoned by council.

A spaza shop at Melgisedek building using an oil lamp after electricity was cut off.

Fury at metros empty promises

Melgisedek in sorry state despite commitment to improve the plight of residents
STAFF REPORTERS
electricity . The complex formerly home to Melgisedek Christian Centre on the corner of Annie Botha and Voortrekkers roads has been without electricity for more than a week. Residents said they could not understand why the electricity had been cut off because they use prepaid electricity . What the council did is illegal because we use pre-paid meters. Some people had loaded their meters but they cannot use their electricity because the power is off, said resident Susan Buys. She said some residents had to throw away rotten food because their fridges were not working. Their fridges are not working due to the electricity cut-off and this forced them to throw food away because it was rotten, she said. Buys said most residents were willing to pay for municipal services and had approached the municipality on several occasions for assistance without any luck. According to Buys, a resident at the complex had been collecting R200 from each resident, but they did not know what it was meant for. We want to know what the money will be used for, she said. Buys said they might approach the Pretoria High Court to have their electricity reconnected. We have pre-paid electricity but we cannot use it this is unfair. Conditions at the complex have deteriorated over the past few years. The municipality committed to improving conditions at the complex in 2010 and promised to come up with an action plan indicating steps to be taken to address the welfare of residents. This was after DA councillor Francois Bekker submitted a motion to council in 2010, asking for action and commitment from the municipality . Bekker said at the time that the ball was now in the metro councils court to introduce an action plan to

ESIDENTS of Melgisedek complex in Riviera have claimed that Tshwane Metro Council illegally cut off their

Uncollected refuse at Melgisedek building on the corner of Steve Biko (Beatrix) and Annie Botha Streets.
take control of the situation. While the municipality has failed to provide answers to the Pretoria News regarding the situation at Melgisedek, ANC councillors, who included former member of the mayoral committee for environmental management Tessa Ernest and Edward Musehane, paid a surprise visit to the complex on Monday to obtain first-hand information on what is happening. Ernest said they made some observations and would discuss what they had seen with the municipality . A plan needs to be made to address some of the issues raised by residents, she said. Residents of the nearby Riviera Close and Medi-Village complexes have also spoken out about the goings-on in the complex, which they say often spill over into their complexes. A resident occupying a block of flats next to the Melgisedek perimeter wall said she could no longer sit on her balcony , as each time she did, she attracted unwanted attention from malcontents at Beersheba, as the complex is notoriously known. They start calling me all sorts of names like, lovey, sister or sweety, and I find it extremely annoying, said the tenant who declined to be named. She said at times she could not keep her windows open as the smell of marijuana from Beersheba wafted into her house. I am definitely on my way out, she said, adding that she was looking for accommodation somewhere decent. A security guard at Riviera Close complex, who also declined to be named said the rate of turnover in their block of flats bordering Melgisedek was very high because of the nuisance arising from the complex. He said besides the smell of drugs and noise emanating from the complex, there was at times an unbearable smell from the sewer system there. The security guard said residents from the surrounding area who dropped at a nearby bus stop were not safe after dark, and that there had been incidents of bag snatching, with the muggers running and disappearing into the complex. If this place got shut down or demolished, people here (at Riviera Close) and those at Medi-Village would definitely be very happy , the

PICTURES: ETIENNE CREUX

guard said. A member of the Moot community police forum (South Sector), who did not wish to be named, said steps should be taken by the council to address the problems at the complex. The member said there were a lot of things happening at the complex, with little action being taken by the authorities. There are a lot of illegal people and drugs are involved. The city has not done anything to tackle the problem, he said. He said the complex was a hideout for criminals and posed a threat for students who walk to the nearby Steve Biko Hospital. One of the biggest problems we have is that crime has increased and this is not good for the neighbourhood. This complex pulls the wrong people to the area, he said.

Runners are raring to go for the 2013 Comrades Marathon

Members of the Baphiring community gathered outside the appeal court in Bloemfontein earlier this month.
AT THE Sahara Kingsmead Cricket Stadium on Sunday , June 2, 19 722 runners are expected to line up for the Comrades Marathon. Among them will be 1 422 international runners 1 190 from overseas and 232 from the rest of Africa. The average age for women runners is 40, while for men it is 41. This years youngest runner is Ebrahim Samsodian, 20, from Cape Town. The oldest is Desmond Robins, 83, from Durban. Comrades marathon race director Johan van Staden, said preparations were 100 percent on track. We have increased security along the route and there will be more patrols. SAPS has also committed itself to increasing visibility , and other traffic authorities have promised to increase their presence, so we are happy , he said. A total of 600 security officials would be hired. On the medical front, 60 doctors and 300 physiotherapists will provide the care patients need, said the marathons spokeswoman Delaine Cools. The winner in the men and womens race will bag R300 000, which would be subject to passing a doping test with the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport. Second place and third place would get R145 000 and R110 000 respectively , while the 10th place gets R14 000. Hot spots would be in place as an incentive. The first man and woman to pass Cowies Hill, would win an extra R8 000. The first man and woman at the halfway mark would win R12 000, and the first to reach Camperdown would win R18 000 in total. However, Van Staden said to avoid rabbit starters, to be applicable for the prize, an athlete would have to finish within seven hours and 30 minutes. eThekwini mayor James Nxumalo will fire the gun at the start in Durban at 5.30am. Of the runners, 78 percent or 15 383 men are men and 4 339 women. Sihle Mlambo