SPEECH BY MEC FOR AGRICULTURE AND
LAND REFORM MS. TINA JOEMAT-PETTERSSON
AT THE OCCASION OF THE SMAUSWANE
SETTLEMENT CELEBRATION ON
Programme
director
Honourable
District Mayor Mogodi
Honourable
Mayors Dikgopodithate and Mothibakeledi
Honourable
Kgosana Seboko
Chief Land Claims Commissioner Tozi Gwanya
Commissioner Tshepiso Ramakarane
Councilors
and Smauswane CPA Executive
Smauswane
CPA and all Officials of Government
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are gathered here
today to celebrate yet another critical advancement in the restoration of the
land rights of those that were brutally dispossessed by the apartheid regime.
This celebration resonates as a reminder of what was central to our liberation struggle – the land question.
Today, we are proud to declare that we have restored
the heritage, dignity and the livelihood of the Smauswane
community through this settlement. Our promise to you is that we will continue
reversing the ills of the Natives Land Act of 1913 that subjected Africans to a
dead-end-ally of poverty in their land of birth.
Our celebration reaffirms our land and agrarian battle
cries that reverberated before and after the Smauswane
forceful removal of July 1942; The Land Shall Be Shared Among Those Who
Work; The People Shall Share in the Wealth of the Country and
There Shall Be Work and Security
We knew that this would only prevail in a
These clauses of the Freedom Charter gives us much
reason to celebrate as we commemorate 50TH year of the adoption of
the Freedom Charter that spelt out the people’s vision for a free and
democratic South Africa.
Programme Director,
The land struggle was and is being epitomised by a
want for equitable land access that we shall not falter on in our endeavour of
reclaiming our lost ancestral land. This we guarantee to do within the confines
of the constitution.
We will continue to provide redress to those who were
dispossessed of property after
The 3763.7271 ha with a monetary value of R4 728
613.36 of land restoration for Smauswane adds up to
287 764. 4807 ha that has already been restored to claimant communities of the
We have
prioritised the settlement of the following claims by end of March 2006:
§
§ Droogfontein
§
§ Sydney-on-Vaal
§
§ Pniel
§
§ Kakamas and
§
§ Dikgweng
As already stated 287 764.4807 hectares have to date been restored back
to claimants, with 5912 beneficiaries. This include Riemvasmaak, #Khomani San, Schmidtsdrift, Majeng, Groenwater, Skeyfontein, Thagadiipelajang, etc. Smauswane
is granting us 136 beneficiaries to write home about.
The resettlement of the Smauswane community is
historic in that it has taken us beyond the 6000 mark of beneficiaries whose
ownership rights to lost ancestral land have been restored in the
Another beauty of this settlement lies in the fact
that it paves the way for reinvention of indigenous agricultural knowledge.
Hence we can safely say that this event marks the home coming of the
pastoralists who will conserve our agricultural heritage that nearly became
lost to future generations.
I am glad that as claimants you have vouched to adhere
to the best farming practices to achieve the highest quality of meat and crop
production.
Programme Director,
Government will support the Smauswane
community in all its practises of sustainable agriculture. It is for this
reason that I would like to take occasion in informing you all of the Land
Reform Co-ordinating Committee (LRCC) that is made up
of different departments to co-ordinate integrated and sustainable land reform
implementation at project level.
I am confident that the mentioned committee will
inform you on all aspects relating to your plans of pursuing agriculture as a
means of creating sustainable livelihoods.
It is indeed heartening to note that the Regional Land
Claims Commission has allocated an amount of R408 480.00 for your future
plans on the land.
Further, the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform
will most definitely list Smauswane on its list of
project beneficiaries for the 2006/7 financial years of its Comprehensive
Agricultural Support Programme (CASP). We will ensure
that you have the necessary infrastructure to make your business viable.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion
The settlement of the Smauswane
land claim does indeed allow us to say never again to forceful removals and the
consolidation of former homelands such as
This settlement allows us to thank all persons that
have been involved in ensuring that we return the pride and joy of the
community – its lands rights.
To the beneficiaries, today is your day of equitable
distribution; tomorrow will be your day of redistribution of wealth. We urge
you to rebuild on your lost heritage and prosperity.
May this piece of land be your everlasting treasure. We thank you for assisting us in expanding
agriculture’s livestock farming and crop production ownership boundaries.
We thank you for adhering to the restitution
processes, for talking when we needed the voices of the land to speak and not
for opting for financial compensation.
In extending further thanks to the persons that have
been involved in ensuring that we return the pride and joy of the community –
we ought to hail the Commission for doing the civil service proud.
Our gratitude is also extended
The blessings of Kgosi Silas
Baka Seboko and the
community are with you.
Ke a leboga,