The Griqua community of Bucklands near Douglas in the Northern Cape celebrated June with other dispossessed communities by receiving back land taken by the apartheid government.
The celebrations were part of the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs’s Land Month.
Nine of the 21 farms taken from the Bucklands Griqua community were handed back, benefiting a total of 1 526 people.
The destitute community has high hopes for the future because the farms have rich agricultural potential. Tourism is another avenue the community will explore because the farms are located at the confluence of the Vaal and Orange rivers. Diamonds have also been found on the properties and the community is securing a mining permit.
“This handover is regarded as phase one, because the commission is negotiating with landowners about other affected portions of Bucklands farms,” said Sugar Ramakaranre, regional land claims commissioner for the Free State and Northern Cape.
He said the community will not be left to fend for itself. “Our restitution partners are going to ensure that the Griqua tribe is provided with the necessary skills to effectively run and manage the farms.”
Douglas was established in 1867 when the Griquas controlled the area. But they were progressively dispossessed of their land after 1876 when diamonds were found in the area. The Bucklands farms were sub-divided in the 1880s. After 1913 the farms were sub-divided again.
“Some of the farms were vested in the ownership of the state and others were purchased by private individuals,” said Ramakarane.
The local community was still being removed from Bucklands as late as 1977, when the homes of people such as Lisa Kgorokgo were demolished by bulldozers.
“I have suffered so much,” said Kgorokgo, a member of the Bucklands Communal Property Association (CPA), which will manage the returned land. “But today my heart is overflowing.”
Tozi Gwanya, acting chief land claims commissioner, urged the new landowners to be careful with their land. “It comes with a label — handle with care. Do not sell it back to your oppressors.”
Gwanya also urged white farmers to work with the government to correct “the injustices of the past”.
“We have a long way to go, though a number of communities are getting their land back this month.”
Acting premier John Block, provincial minister of transport, roads and public works, urged the Bucklands community never to forget their heritage and to work together to reap the benefits of being landowners.
“The hardest part of land restitution begins after you receive your land. The fighting starts when the money starts rolling in,” Block told the community.
“Keep your CPA united. Do not bring your relatives from Upington to steal the community’s riches. This is communal ground, one individual cannot decide for the others.”
William Wellum, a member of the CPA who was deeply involved in the community’s land claim, says there are plans to build a holiday resort near the river that will generate sufficient funds to run a commercial farming operation.
“We had nothing. Now we have a future,” he said.