2007 Annual Report - Sappi

y certain of the individual direct purchasers and the indirect
purchasers were also dismissed without prejudice during 2007.
South Africa
The Restitution of Land Rights Act (Act 22 of 1994), as
amended, provides for the restoration of rights in land or other
equitable redress to persons or communities dispossessed of
their land rights after 19 June 1913 as a result of old laws or
practices discriminating on the basis of race. The legislation
empowers the Minister of Land Affairs to expropriate land in
order to restore it to a successful claimant provided that there
is just and equitable compensation to the owner of the land.
Claims under the Act were required to be filed on or before
31 December 1998 and are presently being processed by the
Commission on Restitution of Land Rights and adjudicated
upon by the Land Court. This process is expected to continue
for many years. As one of the largest land owners in South
Africa, the group anticipates that a substantial number of claims
may affect land it owns. The process of determining the extent
of claims filed in respect of group land and the potential impact
of these claims on the South African operations continues.
To date, there has been notification of twenty-six formal Land
Claims made in respect of portions of group plantations in the
Mpumalanga province of South Africa, and thirty-two others
made in respect of portions of group plantations in the KwaZulu
Natal province of South Africa. These claims have not been
finalised and are still under investigation by the Regional Land
Claims Commissioner.
Financial Targets and Performance
Our financial targets, and performance against those, are
summarised on pages 4 and 5 of the Annual Report.
Management’s main objective is to increase the value of our
company as much as possible by increasing profits, generating
growing amounts of cash and utilising that cash in a way that
optimises value for our shareholders.
M R Thompson
Chief financial officer
sappi limited | 07 | annual report 47