The end of the marathon Richtersveld land-claim dispute is in sight, with news on Thursday that agreement has been reached on a settlement with the state.
At a series of meetings this week, members of the Richtersveld community gave their approval to a draft memorandum of understanding, expected to be formalised within weeks when it is signed by Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin and community representatives.
”It’s a done deal: there’s going to be a settlement,” said the community’s lawyer, Henk Smith of the Legal Resources Centre. ”We’re not going back to court.”
”As government we are very excited about this latest development, and we believe that the offer is reasonable and in the community’s best interests,” said Erwin’s spokesperson, Gaynor Kast. ”We’re thrilled that we don’t have to go back to the court and that we are able to finalise this sooner rather than later.”
The state and the state-owned diamond-mining company Alexkor, which together opposed the claim, have spent an estimated R50-million on legal fees.
It is understood that the agreement, which will be made an order of court, restores the diamond-rich land to the community, with a R190-million lump-sum payment as compensation for diamonds that have been removed by Alexkor over decades.
It also provides for a joint mining venture with Alexkor that gives the community the option of buying out the Alexkor share if it finds a private-sector partner.
Furthermore, it contains a state guarantee for rehabilitation of the areas devastated by Alexkor’s mining operations.
The community had been seeking the restitution of about 84 000 hectares of diamond-bearing land on the Northern Cape coast, plus compensation of up to R2,5-billion for diamonds removed and environmental damage.
It lodged its claim in 1997, and lost an initial round in the Land Claims Court. It subsequently won a Constitutional Court ruling that it was, in fact, entitled to restitution.
The case then went back to the Land Claims Court for evidence on the nature and amount of the restitution and compensation. The court heard extensive evidence from community members and environmental and mining experts.
The last hearing of the case was in November last year. Due to resume in May, it was instead postponed to allow for settlement talks. — Sapa