The business rights watchdog AfriBusiness received evidence indicating that certain historical records, which can assist in disproving the land claim of the Bakwena Ba Mare a Phogole tribe (South Gauteng Land Claim), are missing.

These records are of the utmost importance when considering the validity of a claim, the importance of which is encompassed in Section 30 (2)(b) of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994). AfriBusiness applied to the relevant governmental bodies in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) (PAIA) to determine the location of these records.

The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act, 1996 (Act No. 43 of 1996) clearly states that the preservation and safekeeping of such records reside with the National Archivist as appointed by the Public Service Commission (PSC). If it comes to light that the records concerned are unattainable due to loss and/or damage thereto, criminal proceedings could subsequently follow. The relevance of these records is so significant that it could influence the determination of all current and future land claims in South Africa.

“The preservation of the documented history of all the people of South Africa is of the utmost importance as it could have a massive effect on the validity and final approval of land claims either by the Land Claims Commission or the Land Claims Court. Failure by the custodians of our national history to provide these records will lead to legal action against the relevant state departments,” says Armand Greyling, Law and Policy Analyst at AfriBusiness.

Issued by AfriBusiness