Issued by: SA Communication Service
The first settlement of a land claim lodged with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights in KwaZulu-Natal is to be formally signed by claimants and landowners at Cremin, near Ladysmith, on Thursday, 13 June 1996.
In a media statement the Regional Land Claims Commissioner for KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Cherryl Walker, has announced that an agreement between the Cremin community at Elandslaagte and the current landowners for the return of land the community lost in 1977 was reached on 16 May 1996. At a ceremony to be held on 13 June 1996 the parties to the agreement will sign a formal request that the settlement now be made an order of the Land Claims Court.
It is an historic moment for the 114 families who were forcibly removed from the land their forebears bought over 80 years ago, in 1912.
It is also a landmark for the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights as it is the first of almost 3 000 claims before the KwaZulu-Natal office of the Commission to reach this stage.
"It is the culmination of a very encouraging process of negotiation over the past year, that has been characterised by goodwill and respect for the rights of others on all sides. This achievement sends a positive signal to other claimants in the region," said Ms Walker.
NOTE TO MEDIA.
The media is invited to meet some of the claimants at the farm they are claiming back at Cremin (near Elandslaagte in District Road 46) on Thursday, 13 June at 14:30 and then to attend the signing of the referral at the community meeting at the Methodist Church in Africa, D Section, Ezakheni, Ladysmith at 16:30 the same afternoon.
Further information can be obtained from Ms Linda Swanepoel, Mr Nhlanhla Mazibuko or Ms Rebecca Solomon at the Regional Commis- sioner's office, Pietermaritzburg, Tel: 0331 426955 or Mr Shabalala, Secretary of the Mayibuye i-Cremin Committee at 0361 361163.
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE REGIONAL LAND CLAIMS COMMISSIONER: KWAZULU-NATAL 12 JUNE 1996