Submission on Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill [B35-2013] Ri’aad Dollie to Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform Parliament, 29 January 2012

1901 The first forced removal of African residents from District Six using the Public Health Act of 1897 after outbreak of Bubonic Plague

1. Fully support the extension of the date for submissions of land claims Public response to date – case of D6 A land claim is generational work Complicated nature of investigating and assembling documentation in support of a land claim Inadequate support in government departments Inadequate guidelines to citizens

Recommendation Extension of deadline for submissions be announced through comprehensive media and education campaign aimed especially at the youth Media and education campaign should run for the duration of the extension period Implementation plan to include training of Legal and Archival workers to initiate proactive research projects and to support citizens’ research

2. Constitution only entertains land claims post 1913 Land Act The Act excludes colonial dispossession Formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 was a process, not an event Excludes the evolution of Apartheid in urban settlements e.g. plagues used as excuse to forcibly prevent land use and remove black people Erosion of qualified franchise and access to higher education to curtail black mobility

Thank you Recommendation The Constitution be amended to accommodate land claims prior to 1913, not by exception or behind closed doors, but through public channels Parliament is the correct forum for that debate Thank you