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- SAHRC chairperson advocate Bongani Majola said the commission was concerned about the slow pace of land redistribution in South Africa.
- Majola added land played an integral part in restoring the dignity of many.
- He made a call to stakeholders to find ways to assist the government in speeding up the land redistribution process.
The chairperson of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), advocate Bongani Majola, says the commission was concerned about the slow pace of the land restitution process.
Majola spoke at the national conference marking 110 years of the Natives Land Act, which was held at the Birchwood Hotel on Wednesday.
The SAHRC hosted the conference which aimed to reflect on measures taken to redistribute land in South Africa.
Majola said the significance of land in the country and the world over could never be overstated, mainly because of the history of black people's dispossession of land by white people.
READ | South Africa still battling human rights challenges, SAHRC says
"Land is indeed of grave significance to the country and especially to us as the SAHRC.
"Twenty-nine years into South Africa's democracy, the SAHRC says it is high time the inherent dignity of the people of South Africa be effectively respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled when it comes to access to land.
"The Constitution recognises the devastation caused by the Natives Land Act," he added.
SAHRC Chair Adv Bongani Majola is welcoming delegates to the National Conference: Marking 110 years of the Native Land Act pic.twitter.com/1ZvsFaqia3
— SAHRCommission (@SAHRCommission) August 30, 2023
Majola said the act prohibited Africans from entering into any agreement or transaction for the purchase, hire, or other acquisition of land from a person other than a native.
"The act seized the very asset which was central to the lives of African people and rendered them destitute."
He said:
He added the SAHRC had issued numerous investigative reports and research briefs and made various submissions on parliamentary bills that affected land.
Majola also made a clarion call to Chapter 9 institutions, civil society organisations, and society to look at ways in which they could assist in ensuring the government fulfilled its obligations in terms of the Constitution concerning access to land.
