Issued by: The Ministry for Agriculture and Land Affairs
In terms of Section 2(1)(c) of the Provision of Certain Land for Settlement Act of 1993, Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, Mr Derek Hanekom, designated the farm Lonsdale (comprising the Remainder of the farm Geluk Stadt No 1847), the farm Hazerswoude (comprising the Remainder of the farm Hazerswoude No 13110) and the farm Lunenberg (comprising the Subdivision 4 of the farm Hazerswoude No 13110, Remainder of Sub 3 of the farm Lunenberg No 2015) for the purposes of settlement. A trust formed by the beneficiary group, the buyers, will hold the land on behalf of 147 families. The background is as follows:
The current group of beneficiaries were selected from amongst the people who experienced evictions in the Muden and Weenen areas, some dating as far back as 1975. The group also includes those already settled on the designated properties.
In 1994 the Muden Land Committee drew up lists of names of people who should benefit from land reform in the Muden area. This selection was based on local history and perceptions, using local initiatives. The establishment of the Land Reform Pilot Programme in KwaZulu-Natal in 1995 (covering the Estcourt, Weenen, Muden and Colenso area) meant that these locally selected beneficiaries could now apply for assistance through the LRPP District Office.
A process of price negotiations with willing sellers was also initiated by the local committees prior to the establishment of the Pilot Programme in 1995. This was renewed in 1995 with the assistance of the District Office of the LRPP.
Preliminary planning workshops were held with the proposed beneficiaries; the farms to be purchased were verified and the prices were agreed upon; the proposed list of beneficiaries was verified; evaluations and agricultural reports were compiled and an application for Ministerial designation was submitted to the District Office in April 1996.
The process of acquiring land being both difficult and frustrating for both purchasers and sellers, due to some sellers withdrawing offers to sell; beneficiary lists having to be reorganised ad beneficiary expectations being quite high in terms of quick delivery. Despite all this key stakeholders and role players in this project have been very patient and have put an incredible amount of work into ensuring a successful transfer of land.
The Ministry would like to commend both the buyers and sellers on their willingness to co-operate, and on the organised way in which they have conducted this transfer. In particular, we would like to thank the Muden Land Committee for ensuring that all requirements for the land transfer had been met and Thelma Trench for assisting the beneficiaries with building their vision for being future land owners.
28 AUGUST 1996