NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 938
Â
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER [No 10-2014 FIFTH PARLIAMENT]
DATE OF PUBLICATION:Â Â 22 AUGUSTÂ 2014
938. Dr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Rural Development
and Land Affairs:
(1) Whether the Land Claims Commission follows a policy in support of the
fact that all land claims are valid; if so, (a) what are the relevant
details and (b) what measures have been implemented to test the
validity of the land claims;
(2) whether any land claims have been rejected; if so, (a) how many, (b)
for what reason(s) and (c) what measures have been implemented to
ensure that the claims are not resubmitted in terms of the Restitution
of Land Rights Amendment Act, Act 15 of 2014?
NW1036E
THE MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM:
1) Yes.
(a) Section 2 of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No 22
of 1994) outlines the basis for a land claim to qualify for
restitution. Rules 3 and 5 of the Rules of the Commission on
Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1996 outline the procedure to be
followed, information and documents required during claim lodgement
and for detailed claim investigation.
(b) The Rule 5 Report also known as the research report contains all
the information and supporting (documentary) material that indicates
whether, based on the strength of information supplied during
lodgement and research, a land claim is valid or not. All research
reports are approved by the Land Claims Commissioner as provided in
section 11 of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994.
(2) Yes.
a) 3Â 207.
b) The land claims do not comply with section 2 of the Restitution
of Land Rights Act, 1994.
c) The lodgement system checks for duplicate identity numbers of
claimants who have already lodged their claims. Verification of
a claim and supporting documentation are done in compliance with
Rule 3 of the Commission. During this stage as well as during
the Rule 5 research stage, duplicate and/or fraudulent claims
are identified. The Act also makes provision for two new
offences one of which is the lodgement of a claim with the
intention of defrauding the state.