Allocation of Tlokweng plots finally begins
Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday December 10, 2014 15:19
After the raffle, the 285 plots were due to be allocated to members of the public, but the move was stopped after disgruntled Batlokwa filed a legal challenge to the process of award.
Yesterday, an official from the land authority confirmed that the Land Board started allocating the plots last week to the 285 ‘winners’ who had been patiently waiting for almost two years.
“Following the conclusion of the court battle and the court order that was issued by the Land Tribunal, we have already started allocating the plots,” she said. She explained that the 285 people were not physically given plots but were given offer letters, meaning they would receive the plots.
She said besides the 285 land seekers, the 17 Batlokwa who dragged the Land Board to court over the allocation process would also receive land.
However, the latest land allocations will not benefit Batlokwa who supported the 17 main applicants but did not join the legal suit. The Land Board official said such land seekers would have to wait for “another advertisement for land allocation”.
The marathon legal battle was settled out of court last month, having bounced between the High Court and the Land Tribunal. The deal hammered out was that the 17 applicants would automatically qualify for the plots but only if they met the Board’s criteria.
The court order supporting the settlement stated that the applicants should apply to the Land Board for allocation of residential tribal land at the next set of allocations for tribal land and that their individual applications would be considered in terms of the Tribal Land Act and the Land Board’s prevailing policy.
“Applicants shall not claim any relief from this Tribunal, or any court or statutory body against the Land Board in respect of the plots and/or allocations concerned in this matter and this agreement settles all claims between the parties in relation to this matter,” read the order.”
The 17 people will also be allocated plots, but only if they meet the Board’s criteria for land allocation because we will be screening them just like any other applicants,” she said.