The hearing of the Richtersveld community’s multibillion-rand land claim has been postponed to October 25 — and could continue into 2006.
Land Claims Court Judge Antonie Gildenhuys, who has been hearing evidence in Cape Town over the past four weeks, said on Friday that seven weeks have been set aside for the October session.
Five of them will be used for further testimony, one to allow the batteries of advocates to prepare their arguments, and one to present those arguments in court.
However, if the evidence takes longer than expected, the hearing might have to resume in 2006, he said.
The Richtersvelders are claiming the return of more than 84 000ha of diamond-rich land confiscated by the state in the 1920s, and up to R2,5-billion in compensation.
The Constitutional Court has already ruled, following a first round of hearings, that they are entitled to restitution: the current hearings are to determine the nature of that restitution.
On Friday, the secretary of the Richtersveld Communal Property Association (CPA), Floors Strauss, was cross-examined on the viability of the community’s plans for the land, which include diamond mining, and on the degree of unity within the community itself.
Henk Havenga, one of four advocates appearing for the government, asked Strauss whether everyone shares the view that the original Nama inhabitants and the Bosluis Basters, who moved in from elsewhere in the Northern Cape in 1949, are a single community.
Strauss said that in any community, one would never find everyone thinking the same way.
There are possibly individual views, ”but in general, in the CPA we see ourselves as one community”.
He himself has not encountered the view that the Basters do not deserve compensation.
”It has never come up at meetings, official meetings,” he said.
Asked if there are people who hold that view, he said: ”Judge, to my knowledge, no.”
He acknowledged that there was tension between the northern Richtersveld and the south, where the Basters are concentrated, but it has been resolved.
The reason for the division had been ”administrative”, to do with the fact that the areas were represented by different councillors, rather than Nama/Baster polarisation.
”We now talk about one Richtersveld,” he said. — Sapa