RESIDENTS of Farm 371 protested outside of the Dikgatlong Municipality in Barkly West yesterday, demanding that the title deed to the farm be returned to them and that basic services be provided.
According to the chairperson of Griqua People’s Heritage, Thomas Chabalala, the farm has been in the possession of approximately 400 families since the 1700s.
“Farm 371 has never been part of any land claim. Gong Gong was purchased in 1986 for the community. During the land claim process, it was not given to the CPA (communal property association) as part of their settlement. They received farms 222, 230 and 372 and sold their claim to 371 for R93 000 per family. This acceptance of the monetary compensation terminated all and any claims they may have had to the land, as per the act,” Chabalala said.
He added that in 2003 it came to the residents’ attention that Dikgatlong Municipality had purchased the farm.
“All the time we thought our land was being kept in a trust only to find out that the Dikgatlong Municipality had purchased the farm for R4. Ever since then we have been struggling to get the title deed of the farm from them,” Chabalala said.
He added that ever since they have been living on the land the community has had to “fight for everything”.
“Living on Farm 371 is like living in hell. We have two boreholes right in the middle of the cemetery which only operate twice a week for three to four hours. Today is one of the days when we should collect water, but since we are here at the municipality we will not be able to get water. This just goes to show how committed we are to our cause.”
He went on to say that it was also very dangerous for the children to play outside. “Not only are the roads impassable, but there are sharp stones and other debris which puts our children in danger.
“Often days go by when our children cannot go to school because the school transport is out of order as a result of the condition of the road. The bus driver often has to replace his wheels and sometimes a week can go by before our children make it to school.”
Chabalala said the community members approached Eskom last year to provide electricity. “The Dikgatlong Municipality wants to do nothing for us.”
Questions were also raised regarding funds allocated in the various Integrated Development Plan (IDP) budgets. “Every year we hear that money has been allocated to build a library or provide recreational facilities for our children. There is absolutely nothing like that on Farm 371 however.”
Chabalala further stated that the farm was just 13km away from the municipality but residents of the town were unaware of what was happening. “We see them drive past here on a regular basis on their way to some or other function in Ulco or somewhere else, but they don’t bother to stop here. We also demand that the councillor has regular and proper consultative meetings with the community. Our ward committee members are always informed late - if at all - of events in the municipality.”
Community members yesterday handed over a memorandum to the municipality and among the demands was the speedy transfer of the land back to the residents, the provision of potable water to the community, the provision of proper sanitation, the resurfacing of the main road on the farm and desisting from issuing permission for miners to mine on the farm without proper community consultation.