The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights warns against fraudulent activies targeted at Land Claimants’ Communities.
The Office of the Regional Land Claims Commissioner in Limpopo would like to warn members of the public, particularly land claimants, to exercise caution whenever they are called to submit land claims documents to persons claiming to represent the Commission, including persons promising to fast-track the processing or finalisation of their land claims at a fee.
These unscrupulous people are scammers operating their business with intent to defraud unsuspecting claimants who have lodged their land claims between 1 July 2014 and 27 July 2016.
The Commission is receiving worrying reports from various villages in the province such as Ga-Matlala under the Polokwane Municipality, Ha-Mulima under the Makhado Municipality, Malamulele and Vyeboom under the Collins Chabane Municipality and several other villages indicating that unsuspecting claimants are paying people money for speedy resolution of their claims.
The Commission would like to notify citizens that land claims lodgement services have been suspended. The Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 15 of 2017), which allowed for the reopening of land claims for a period of five years calculated from 1 July 2014 to 2 30 June 2019, was declared invalid by the Constitutional Court on 28 July 2016.
The court has interdicted and restrained the Commission from processing new order land claims, in any manner, at the instance of the Amendment Act and will be dealt with when a new act is passed or reenacted by Parliament or when the Commission finalises all outstanding claims lodged by 31 December 1998.
The ruling means that the land claims lodged between 1 July 2014 and 27 July 2016 are validly lodged and that the Commission will not be working on these claims until permission is granted to begin dealing with these claims.
The Commission wishes to remind claimants that the land claim process is a free government service. You do not pay anyone, including State or Commission on Restitution of Land Rights officials.
The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is rolling out district-based proactive stakeholder engagement sessions to update claimants on the status of their claims.
For inquiries, kindly contact the following officials: Mr Avhashoni Magada on 082 465 7848 or
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Issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development: • Media Liaison Officer and Spokesperson: Mr Reggie Ngcobo, 0662980980 or
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