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Nwabisa Nofemele
After 13 years of waiting, claimants of the
Fairview and Salisbury Park land – which constitutes
South Africa‘s second- largest urban land claim – might
by the end of the week be a step closer to getting their
land.
More than 3 200 people
of colour in the area were dispossessed in the early
1960s and the land was earmarked for the development of
white areas.
The claim has dragged
on for 13 years, due to bureaucratic bungling. The land
is currently owned by the Eastern Cape housing and local
government department.
Last year, the
department was to transfer ownership of the land to the
claimants but the process, which is being handled by the
State Attorney's office in
Cape Town, had to be stopped when it was discovered that
the provincial government did not own six closed roads
in the area.
The
Deeds Act
stipulates that for a piece of land to be transferred
from one owner to another it must be completely owned by
one owner.
This meant that the
Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, which owned the roads,
had to transfer ownership to the department, which would
then hand the land over to the claimants.
Provincial housing and
local government spokesman Mbulelo Linda said the
process was held up by the Nelson Mandela Bay
municipality which had to present an agreement to be
signed by the department.
"When
the resolution was taken in December, the municipality
had to then draw up an agreement – for us to sign – in
which it would commit to servicing the land once it was
developed. We are still waiting for that agreement,"
Linda said.
He said that after the
agreement was signed and all the land was owned by the
department, the department would instruct the State
Attorney to transfer the land to the claimants.
Port Elizabeth Land
Restitution and Housing Association secretary Clive
Felix said the association was also waiting for the
municipality to present the document.
"The
council took a resolution in December and the closing
date for objections was January. The municipality then
tasked its lawyers to draw up the papers about five
weeks ago, but the documents are not ready yet".
Municipal spokesman
Kupido Baron said the agreement documentation would be
finalised this week.
"Drawing
up this documentation was very complex
; the roads had been closed years ago and it was
only after the State Attorney pointed out that the roads
belonged to the municipality that this was realised.
"The
documents should be ready this week to be signed by the
provincial department," Baron
said.
nnofemele@johnnicec.co.za
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