14 December 2007
	Twice diddled Tony Harding, Kensington

Jacob Zuma, ANC presidential candidate, has expressed interest in reviewing the land restitution legislation (Cover Story November 30). The Restitution of Land Rights Act stipulates that only land claims resulting from the dispossession of land rights after June 19 1913, the cut-off date for valid land claims, can be accepted by the land claims commission. This is the date on which the infamous Native Land Act was passed by a racist parliament. This concern arises out of the fact that the Restitution of Land Rights Act has not met popular expectations, even though the land rights commission has made admirable progress in settling land claims since 1995. The fact is that there were land dispossessions as a result of racial discrimination before 1913, many of which could constitute valid land claims in terms of the act, were the so-called cut-off date to be reviewed. It is possible to speculate on the reasons why the constitution set the cut-off date at 1913. One could be that mineral deposits recently restored to the status of national patrimony would be subject to valid land claims by communities on a scale not expected, even under the current legislation. This is one of the objectives of communities who have watched the post-apartheid state "dispossess them for a second time". If the restitution act were reviewed, some communities would be keen to follow the example of the Royal Bafokeng community and develop their own patronage networks. This is unlikely. No matter how deeply moral the claim by communities may be for restoration of their patrimony, including their entitlement to royalties, the proposal for a review of the cut-off date will not be well received by the state.