Mpangisweni land claims settled
Chris Khumalo
16 February 2004
Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza handed over title deeds to 300 households in Mpangisweni near Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday as part of the government's land restitution programme.
The community was removed from their land by the apartheid government in the 1950s and resettled in areas such as Nongoma, and Babanango.
The government committed over R17-million towards the settlement of the claim, which was used to purchase 6 900 hectares of land.
The ceremony took place in the Swart Umfolozi area in Vryheid, which falls under the Abaqulusi local municipality in the Zululand district area.
"The majority of the members of the Mpangisweni community had occupied the land under the indigenous tenure system since time immemorial", said Zwelihle Memela, the spokesman for the KwaZulu-Natal Land Claims Commission.
He said the community had a certain degree of economic independence, as they derived their
livelihood from the land they lived and worked on. "They enjoyed beneficial occupational rights to land as well as grazing rights", Memela said.
Memela said the acquired land is currently being used for grazing, maize farming, and timber plantation. "The community has committed themselves to sustain the existing farming operations", Memela said.
Source: BuaNews
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