The South African government is working hard to restore the dignity of all South Africans through the land reform programme, Deputy President David Mabuza has said.
“As government, we want to restore human dignity. We must be at the forefront of transformation,” Mabuza said at a land handover ceremony in Seoding, a town in Northern Cape Province, on Tuesday.
The handover of the land to GaMopedi and Seoding communities forms as part of the government’s restitution and land reform programme in line with the country’s constitution.
Other land beneficiaries included the Dukathole community, which consists of residents who moved to Germiston between 1920 and 1927 to look for job opportunities in the mining sector following evictions from their land by the apartheid government.
Both the GaMopedi and Seoding communities have received 9,000 hectares of land, which will be utilised for agricultural production.
At the handover ceremony, Northern Cape Premier Silvia Lucas said government was committed to ensuring that people got their land back.
“We want to restore the dignity of our people by restoring the land back to them. Now that you have your land back, you will be able to contribute to food production,” Lucas said.
Community leader Atho Niemand noted that it has been a long journey to regain their land.
“We are going to use the land productively.”
NM/jn/APA