The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has approved the release of 2.8 ha of land to the Housing Development Agency (HDA) in the Msunduzi municipality, in KwaZulu-Natal, for human settlements development and the formalisation of an existing settlement.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille approved the release of the land following a request by the HDA, as well as the completion of necessary processes, in accordance with the State Land Disposal Act.

The parcels of land approved by the DPWI for release to the HDA are currently vested in the DPWI as the custodian of State-owned land. Certain portions of the land are vacant while another portion is occupied by an informal settlement. The properties are earmarked for housing development and the formalisation of the informal settlement. They are located about 10 km from the Pietermaritzburg central business district.

The approval of the release of the land also enables the DPWI acting director-general Alec Moemi to provide special powers of attorney to the HDA, enabling the agency, in conjunction with the Msunduzi municipality, to initiate the process for human settlements development on the land.

As part of the process, De Lille has written to Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi to inform her that she has approved the gratis release of this land to enable human settlements development.

This latest release of land in KwaZulu-Natal comes after the release of 18 land parcels measuring 533 ha by the DPWI in the previous year for the purposes of accommodating communities, including those displaced by floods in the province early in 2022.

In January, De Lille announced that she had approved the release of 1 199 ha of land, valued at about R7.4-million, to assist in settling a land restitution claim by the Kaapsche Hoop community in Mpumalanga.

In addition, four properties measuring 2 050 ha have been identified by the DPWI. These are two properties measuring 511 ha valued at about R10-million in Mpumalanga for the Bhembe community, and two properties in North West measuring 1 539.3 ha valued at about R8-million for the Mekgareng/Broederstroom community, which were also released in January for land restitution claims.

The DPWI, as the custodian of national State-owned land, is often requested to release land to settle land restitution claims, for human settlements development, and for land redistribution as part of the ANC government's land reform agenda.

LAND REFORM SINCE 2019

The DPWI has pushed hard on its land reform agenda since June 2019. The department has been working towards releasing State-owned land for these various purposes.

For human settlements development, the DPWI has released 2 560 ha of land in 44 parcels to the HDA. Additionally, 18 land parcels measuring 533 ha were released to accommodate communities, including those displaced by floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

To support infrastructure development, the DPWI approved the registration of servitude for roads, water, electricity and gas pipeline servitudes in 11 land parcels totaling 15 ha in the past financial year. The department has also released about 28 ha – seven land parcels – for the registration of Eskom servitudes in December 2022.

In terms of restitution, the DPWI has released 218 land parcels measuring 31 439 ha since May 2019. Last year's target for restitution was 10 000 ha, which was exceeded.

In November last year, 23 families in the Chris Hani district, who were forcibly removed by the apartheid regime, received title deeds to the land they were removed from in the area known as Thornhill in the Eastern Cape. The families were issued with title deeds for the properties with an estimated municipal value of R10-million.

For land redistribution, the DPWI has released 25 549 ha of agricultural land in 125 parcels for the Redistribution Programme since May 2019. More than 30 black farmers of the Tafelkop Farmers' Association in Limpopo received title deeds to farms they had occupied for decades, successfully farming a range of produce for various markets in 2021.

The DPWI has committed to further pushing its land reform agenda and releasing available State-owned land once all due processes have been completed.