Question NW244 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
21 December 2020 - NW244
Steyn, Ms A to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
Whether, with reference to her reply to question 992 on 19 December 2019, the Gwatyu community in the Eastern Cape applied to be registered as a Communal Property Association (CPA); if so, (a) why was this community not included in the specified reply, (b) on what date did the community apply and (c) what are the reasons that this community cannot be registered as a CPA?
Reply:
No. Some members of the Gwatyu community, acting through an attorney, submitted an application for registration of a Provisional Association on 30 July 2014. Question 992 sought information on applications for registration as communal property associations, which were outstanding. The interpretation applied to the word “outstanding”, meant an application that was in the possession of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and was still being processed. The Gwatyu application was not included since it was neither an application for registration of a communal property association nor an outstanding application.
Notwithstanding the above, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has since undertaken a land rights enquiry on all the farms and once finalised, the affected communities will be workshopped on various land holding arrangements and will be given an opportunity to choose the best suitable land holding structure that suits their existing circumstances taking into consideration various land rights that may exist on these farms.
If the community then chooses to register a CPA, the Department will ensure that the requirements that are set out in section 8(4) and (5) of the Communal Property Association Act, 28 of 1996 are met.
(a), (b), (c) Falls away.