Land restitution: President to handover land to KwaMkhwanazi community

The KwaMkwanazi community’s land dispossession predates the Natives Land Act of 1913 which formalised the alienation of black South Africans from land communities had inhabited historically.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday, 14 October 2018, hand over 4,586 hectares of land to the community of KwaMkhwanazi in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, at a ceremony to mark the successful transfer of land and ownership to the community. 

The KwaMkwanazi community’s land dispossession predates the Natives Land Act of 1913 which formalised the alienation of black South Africans from land communities had inhabited historically. 

As part of the government’s programme of land reform and restitution, the KwaMkwanazi submitted claims for the return of land administered by the King Cetshwayo District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. The community’s successful claim will see 1,656 regain ownership of their ancestral land.  

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries alongside the Department of Public Works, Department of Public Enterprises and the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation coordinated the successful transfer and ownership of the land to the community of KwaMkhwanazi in cooperation with the stewardship of Inkosi Mkwanazi. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address 2018 highlighted that land reform and restitution will be pursued in a manner that is effective, constitutional and sustainable. 

The KwaMkwanazi community will receive title deeds as well as post-settlement packages and support that will assist the community in leveraging the potential wealth of the land and managing the land sustainably to create opportunities for employment and alleviate poverty. 

(Inputs: The Presidency)