2.4 Legislative interventions
Land and Title Adjustment Act, Act 111 of 1993
Why is such an intervention necessary?
The underlying land to the POF may comprise of land parcel(s) owned by a ‘deceased estate’ and which estate has not been reported, accordingly there is no ‘seller’.
The above means that for such parcels of land to be acquired by the state/organ of state, the property would need to be expropriated which is a lengthy process.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the Law of Succession there may be other competing rights to such parcels of land.
The occurrence of the above will cause a major delay to concluding the Land Assembly Process and ultimately the Township Establishment Process
What is the Purpose?
The purpose is to regulate the allocation of certain land in respect of which one or more person’s claim ownership, but who do not have registered title deed(s) in respect thereof.
The Act inter alia contemplates a deceased estate and where the heirs and other claimants do not have title to that land.
The Act provided for the appointment of a Commissioner who, on appointment becomes the ‘Seller’ of the land.
The State and/or Organ of the State is then immediately in a position to deal with the land and to acquire same without having to expropriate the land.
What are the ‘Pitfalls’?
The Act is a National Act.
The Act is administered by the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
The process to date of the appointment of a Commissioner(s) has been a protracted one and accordingly the objectives of the Act have generally not been met.
What is the solution to effectively utilise this Act?
The Constitution of the RSA requires that all spheres of Government co-operate with one another in order to achieve the objectives of the State as a whole.
The above constitutional obligation was codified by the promulgation of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, Act 13 of 2005. This Act provides, at Section 35, for spheres of Government and/or State Departments to enter into an Implementation Protocol (IP) to define such co-operation and bind each other to collectively achieving the set out objectives.
The Municipality should conclude such an IP with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and to prepare ‘Work Plans’ as defined and contemplated by Act 13 of 2005.
The conclusion of IPs has had a material and positive impact on addressing the issue of State Departments and the different the spheres of government operating in ‘silos’.
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