Page 16 - Litigating in the Land Claims Court: Training Manual

LITIGATION IN IN IN THE LAND CLAIMS COURT TRAINING MANUAL LITIGATION IN IN IN THE LAND CLAIMS COURT TRAINING MANUAL IV
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LAND CLAIMS A land land claim claim is is a a a a a a a a a claim claim by a a a a a a a a a labour tenant or or or or a a a a a a a a a dispossessed occupier or or or or owner for rights in land land or or or or alternatively financial compensation Land claims can be brought under either the the the LTA or the the the Restitution Act We consider each in turn The Labour Tenants Act 40 Section 25(6) of of the Constitution provides that: “A person or community whose tenure of of land is legally insecure as as a a a a a a a a a result of past racially discriminatory laws or or practices is is entitled to to the extent provided by an Act of Parliament either to to tenure which is legally secure or to to comparable redress ”
Section 25(9) makes it it clear that that Parliament Parliament must enact the envisaged legislation In fulfilment of that that obligation Parliament Parliament has passed several pieces of of legislation to to give effect to to this right One of of these is is is the the LTA 41 The The LTA seeks to to to reverse the effects of of discriminatory laws enacted to to to dispossess Black people of of land The The purposes of these these discriminatory laws were recently described by Madlanga J in in these these terms:
“The purpose of of it it all was first the obvious one of of making more land available to white farmers The The second “was to impoverish black people through dispossession and prohibition of of forms of of farming arrangements that permitted some self-sufficiency This meant they depended on employment for survival thus creating a a a a a a a a a pool of cheap labour for the the white farms and the the mines White farmers had repeatedly complained that African people refused to work for them as servants and labourers” The third was the the enforcement of of the the policy of of racial segregation which assumed heightened proportions during the the apartheid era ”22
42 The learned judge went on on to to vividly explain how labour tenant relationships were used to to exploit Black people:23
“African people found themselves working as labour tenants on land now in in the the hands of whites That dispensation subjected them to to untold cruelty and suffering 24 Sol Plaatje cites an an example:
22 Daniels v Scribante and Another [2017] ZACC 13 2017 2017 2017 (4) SA 341 (CC) (CC) 2017 2017 2017 (8) BCLR 949 (CC) (CC) at para 16 23
Ibid at para 18
24 Lephakga “The Significance of of of Justice for True Reconciliation on on on on the the the Land Question in in the the the Present Day South South Africa” (Master of of of Theology thesis University of of of South Africa 2012) at 37 (modified original footnote) PAGE 16 PAGE