What's the difference between a Labour Tenant and a ... - AFRA

What’s the difference between aLabour Tenant and a restitutionclaim?Bheki NdlelaIt is well known that the Restitution Commissionhas been encountering difficultiesin dealing with rural land claims, particularlythose claims which include farm land.Amongst the challenges faced by the DLAProvincial Land Reform Office (PLRO)and Regional Land Claim Commission(RLCC) in KwaZulu-Natal is the resolutionof overlapping Restitution and Labour Tenantclaims on farm land. The issue is mademore complex in the rural environmentwhere, unlike urban claims where peoplewould ordinarily opt for monetary compensation,ownership of the land is a morecritical aspect.The origin of difficulties with overlappingclaims is the lack of collective approach orstrategy between the Department of LandAffairs (DLA) and the RLCC in dealingwith them. Also, through the likes of theAgri-BEE policy, government has createdexpectations amongst communities thatreal opportunity exists for them to becomesmall farmers and thereby to sustain theirlivelihoods. Yet there is a lack of implementationstrategy with regard to the new policiesand processing of claims. The issue ofoverlapping claims has become a strugglefor both sections of the DLA in KZN.Why do labour tenant andrestitution claims overlap?Historically major countryside or rural dispossessionswhere driven by the demand forlabour in mines and also by market demandfor agricultural produce. People who were2 AFRA News No. 61 December 2006

living as subsistence farmers (peasants) were stripped of theirland and forced to work for white farmers in return for occupationalrights, thereby becoming labour tenants. Another form ofdispossession was as a direct result of notorious discriminatoryapartheid government acts.When the new government came into place in1994, it created opportunities for all those whowere dispossessed as a direct result of past discriminatorylaws to submit applications for their rightsto land to be restituted through the Restitution Actno 22 of 1994. The government also recognised theimpact of historical laws and practices on peopleliving on farms as farm dwellers, hence the LandReform (Labour Tenants) Act. Claimants were advisedto make Section 16 applications under thisAct, for assistance in securing tenure rights to landon which they live and use.In many areas these claims overlap – the same piece of land is beingclaimed under two different Acts by different groups of peoplefor redress of dispossession at different stages in our history.In other areas, the same group of claimants has made a claim undereach piece of legislation. Why? Because people are looking forthe simplest, easiest and fastest solution to justice and to securetenure or acquire land.The primary problem is the way in which the two laws have beenconceptualized. The issue of tenure has not been addressed in acoherent way and there is no clear strategy to address the landneeds of people. There is fundamentally a lack of political willto deal adequately with land matters and as a result there are nomechanisms in place to substantively address these overlaps.Government officials are working on the assumption that there isa right which supersedes or overrides the other i.e. A Restitutionright overrides any right on land. However this has never beentested in court. The outcome of this confusion is that claims havebeen delayed and claimants have been left in darkness.Impact of overlapping claimsThere are numerous cases where claims under these two Actsoverlap in KZN, and where the rising confusion from both Departments’officials filters down to the communities. Some classicexamples of overlapping claims are Gongolo in the Estcourt area,Ingogo in Newcastle and Impendle State Land at Impendle.For the purposes of this edition, Iinterviewed people from communitystructures from these areas to gettheir views on the matter:Mr. SthembisoMahlaba – GongoloCommunity CommitteeMr. Mahlaba is chairpersonof GongoloCommunity Committee,which represents bothclaimants groups.“These overlaps are aproblem to communities,especially those living onfarms, as the RLCC officialalways stresses thatRestitution supersedesLabour Tenant Claims. That alone causesuncertainty for communities living onfarms. It has left people confused aboutwhether they have any rights as labourtenants. In fact, what’s happening here isthat the government is causing unnecessaryconfusion amongst the communitywith its programmes, instead of addressingour land need.“Let me give you an example. With oneof the farms here that the Commissionhas bought for people – Birdspruit Farm,Gongolo, there is community in-fightingover that farm because restitution claimantsare telling inside people (the peopleliving on the farm) that they, the restitutionclaimants are the land owners nowand that they will make the rules, not thepeople living on the farm.“The DLA and Commission activities arenot even connected to the Municipality’sprogrammes. Local Government officialsand Mayors in particular are as confusedas communities on the ground and thatbegins to tell us that Land Reform inSouth Africa is not considered as the keyaspect of rural development.”A ssociation For Rural Advancement3

Mr. Zukwa Madlala – Impendle Tenants’ ForumMr. Madlala is the chairperson of the Impendle Tenants Forum representing peoplecurrently living on farms under Impendle State Land. The committee was formed as aresponse to the current land crisis at Impendle.“Mfowethu, I don’t want even to talk about something happening here at Impendle.We thought everything would be simply as it was promised by government officialsfrom DLA. However things turned out to be a nightmare after we found out that thereis a restitution claim in this area. Government departments – DLA, RLCC, Ezemvelo andAgriculture – are playing games with us.“We are not sure about our future. These departments are not consulting with us aslabour tenants who have lodged claims, and every consultation done is with Restitutionclaimants. I don’t know whether it’s because their claim is better than ours.“We can’t even use the land because we are waiting for these claims to be resolved. Itis more than 10 years now. Mfowethu, I think the only thing these departments haddone well is to create conflict and confusion among the restitution and Labour TenantsClaimants.”Mr. Micheal Majola – Abathembu Restitution Claimant GroupMr. Majola is the chairperson of the Abathembu Restitution claimants and also sits onthe Gongolo committee.“I think the government is making a mistake in separating the claims according to itsprogrammes, especially in areas like Gongolo where people regard themselves as one.Perhaps if some kind of a collective approach was used with such claims we wouldn’t beexperiencing such problems and delays. I also think that maybe it’s time now for labourtenants to take their matters or cases to court.”Mr. Mangaliso Kubheka – Ingogo Restitution Claimants TrustMr. Kubheka is the member of Newcastle Farm Dwellers Committee and also memberof Ingogo Restitution Claimants Trust.“I think lessons can be learnt from what’s happening with the Charlestown Claim. Thisblanket approach by RLCC can cause some problems and serious damages. However onecan also not deny the fact that there are delays in these claims.”ConclusionLand reform needs to interlink with other agricultural programmes like LRAD, and theseprogrammes need to have a synergy with Local Government programmes. It is importantfor the RLCC and DLA to revive their roles in the broader South African context so thatthey can begin to deliver as expected by all role players. Land reform cannot happened inisolation from other critical government tools like IDPs, but mostly we need to shift ourthinking from pocketed three legged land reform towards addressing tenure needs, ensuringbetter lives and food security for the rural poor and landless.❖4 AFRA News No. 61 December 2006