Question NW784 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
20 April 2021 - NW784
Montwedi, Mr Mk to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
What (a) total number of persons have had their Permission to Occupy rights to land converted to lease agreements by the Ingonyama Trust in KwaZulu-Natal and (b) impact has the specified conversion had on the tenure security of ordinary citizens in the specified province?
Reply:
a) None. People that reside on Ingonyama Trust land do not do so purely on the basis of a Permission to Occupy, but rather on the basis of customary tenure. There are instances where some may have had Permission to Occupy documents issued to them in the past, but the conclusion of a lease has never necessitated that the lessee surrenders the Permission to Occupy or forsake their customary tenure rights. It has therefore never been significant for the Ingonyama Trust Board to record the fact that a lessee may have had a Permission to Occupy document since it plays no significant role in the determination whether a resident on Ingonyama Trust land should be granted a lease or not.
b) The conclusion of a lease agreement by a resident on Ingonyama Trust land has no impact on the customary tenure right of such a resident.