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

3. 1901
The first forced removal of African residents from District Six using the Public Health Act of 1897 after outbreak of Bubonic Plague

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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