Over 100 residents from Dipati farm in Doornkop outside Ventersdorp in the North West had had their land returned to them. Some members of the group claimed the land individually while others claimed as a group and the compensation varied between R350 000 and title deeds.
The title deeds were handed over by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural development Nokuzola Capa on Saturday.
“I wish this day could be multiplied to all our villages and to be celebrated in our villages so that everyone knows what they got today, not money but land,” she said. Some of the beneficiaries said they will use the land productively and Elizabeth Hlanyane said she was happy to finally have a title deed.
“I am old now but I will die a happy parent knowing that I have left a legacy for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” she said.
Angelinah Sedikane could not hide her excitement. “I wish my mother was still alive to witness this. My parents were farmers and we are going to continue in their footsteps,” she said.
The beneficiaries also received tractors, farming equipment, and 126 breeding cattle. The department said it received multiple land claims on the farm and that one part of the land was a community claim which was lodged on behalf of all the direct descendants of the people who were dispossessed on this farm.
Besides the community claim, there were those individual families who were owning individual plots in and around the farm. The community lost seven portions of land totalling 1800 hectares to the value of R15.3 million.
