South Africa’s national Budget presented on Wednesday provides R6-billion for the land restitution programme over the next three years.
In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said this would be to “complete the programme” — although late last year Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza told a commercial agriculture working group that an estimated R13-billion would be needed by the government to complete land restitution.
The Budget Review reported that the Department of Land Affairs received “substantial additional allocations of R1,7-billion, R2,2-billion and R2,9-billion over the medium term expenditure framework.
“These funds go primarily towards accelerating the land restitution programme,” the review states.
Didiza said last week — at a parliamentary briefing to the media — that 57Â 000 out of 79Â 000 claims had been settled but that the programme had been extended by three years.
Originally President Thabo Mbeki had given her department until the end of the year to complete the claims but there had been a number of complexities particularly affecting rural claims to land. Some farmers were reported to be contesting claims. – I-Net Bridge