1. The Honourable Mthethwa, with reference to section 25(1) of the Constitution, asks what the reasons are why 1913 is used as the benchmark “… for the return of the land, …”.
2. Section 25(7) of the Constitution stipulates that persons or communities who were dispossessed of property as a result of, among others, past racially discriminatory laws after 19 June 1913 are entitled to restitution or to equitable redress. The reference to the date of 19 June 2013 is clear to the extent that that was the date on which the Natives Land Act, 1913 (Act No. 27 of 1913), commenced.
3. On 30 June 1991, the Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991 (Act No. 108 of 1991), repealed and amended a large number of legislation and, among others, repealed the Natives Land Act, 1913.
4. The date of 19 June 1913 should not be scrutinised with reference to the date of repeal of the Natives Land Act, 1913, on 30 June 1991, as the Honourable member’s question may suggest, but rather with reference to the significance and historical basis of 19 June 1913.
5. The Honourable member may be aware that a number of initiatives have in the recent past been undertaken where, among others, the 19 June 1913 date came under discussion. The—
(a) Report of the High-Level Panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Acceleration of Fundamental Change. The mandate of the High-Level Panel was to review legislation (that enables the transformational agenda and pursuit of the developmental state), assess implementation, identify gaps and propose action steps with a view to identifying laws that require strengthening, amending or change. The Panel published its report in November 2017 and, among others, highlighted the 1913 cut-off date (in this regard refer to, among others, pages 246 to 251 of the Report); and
(b) reports of the Ad Hoc Committee to Initiate and Introduce Legislation Amending Section 25 of the Constitution dating back to 2021, which Committee, among others, reported on the public participation process on the Eighteenth Constitution Amendment Bill.
(c) the establishment of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture (the expert panel). The panel’s report provided advise on a broad range of policy matters associated with land reform, including restitution, redistribution, tenure security and agricultural support.
6. In conclusion it should also be recognised that the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994), established the statutory framework for the restitution of rights in land to persons or communities dispossessed of such rights after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices. The date of 19 June 1913 should not be scrutinised with reference to the date of repeal of the Natives Land Act, 1913, on 30 June 1991, but rather with reference to the significance and historical basis of 19 June 1913 which has been underscored by the restitution framework established in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994.