A joyous occasion united the community of Izinini village in Bizana, Eastern Cape when agriculture, land reform and rural development minister Thoko Didiza gave back a title deed of land that was dispossessed by the apartheid regime.
“Others who started this land claim couldn’t live to see this beautiful day. We are thankful to the government,” said the chairperson of the Izinini Community Property Association Dumisani Siyele.
“We have a project to fight poverty and under-development where youth is employed. Let’s respect the land and use it for more development that will assist even unborn children.”
Over a thousand beneficiaries
Didiza came to the village to officially hand over the title deed of about 1 282 hectares of land that will benefit 1 279 households and a total of 1 300 beneficiaries.
She said the financial compensation has been granted but there are families who have not benefitted because of family feuds. The minister urged those families to reach an agreement and approach the committee so the department can pay their compensation, which is rightfully theirs.
“You should know that you are the owners of these things and today, I say let’s stick together so that we can see development. Don’t disappoint us. We want growth and when I come here again, I don’t want to see the destruction of these economic activities,” she said.
More than just a deed
The land claim was approved by the government in 2016 and Didiza gave the community a settlement of R22 million as part of the land that could not be reinstated. This includes the land on which the Bizana CBD is built.
Furthermore, the government gave the community R5.1 million for the operations of their forestry business currently covering 581ha of this land. Their enterprise, Izinini CPA, which employs 58 permanent people, makes a gross income of R14.6 million through the sale of logs harvested from their land to Sappi through an offtake agreement.
Siyele signed the title deed on behalf of the community and said they felt fortunate to have seen this day.
‘Today, the land is finally ours’
Headman Mandisi Ndunge echoed Siyele and said, “There has been an outcry about the lack of the title deed. This is the biggest thing, and it gives us legal rights confirming that this land belongs to us. I don’t have many words of appreciation. I am very happy today. It has been a long journey but today, the land is legally ours,” he said.
Sappi general manager Sandile Nkosi said they were committed to working with the government and communities to develop themselves.
“This project is one of the best projects in the country. In some instances, it’s hard to work with many people but here they work together. Izinini has no loan like other growers in our Khulisa programme,” said Nkosi.
Benefits of land
“Our products are alternatives to plastic so the demand is very high. As part of Sappi’s strides to meet the demand, the company is targeting 30 000ha in the Eastern Cape and we will achieve that sustainable development when we work together,” Nkosi added.
Izinini is one of the forestry businesses supported by the department of rural development and agrarian reform (DRDAR) through the entity the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA), as part of commercialising forestry production in the province.
DRDAR MEC Nonkqubela Pieters said the government has uplifted the community of Izinini village through these investments and support provided by government institutions to their business.
“It’s with delight that we are here today to finish this programme of development. It’s my experience that CPAs and chiefs are fighting in such a way that development stalls, hence I appreciate the unity displayed here,” said Pieters.
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