Land that was dispossessed from the Double Drift community in the Eastern Cape has been returned. The community was dispossessed as a result of the 1913 Land act to make way for a Game Reserve.
The local community received their title deeds on Wednesday in terms of the redistribution programme.
Community members had a choice to either take money, receive another piece of land or keep the existing land. They chose the latter to ensure growth and sustainability in their area.
Minister of Environment Edna Molewa says 1 400 hectares of the land will be used to farm game as well as for hunting.
Molewa said resources that come from communities like these should not only go to Europe or be exported in their raw state. “If the communities want to run a tourism facility, we will support them over here and build infrastructure so that they become owners of the land and users of the land.”
