Parliament's Land Reform Committee urges Ingonyama Trust to comply with court order to refund rental fees

CAPE TOWN - Parliament’s land reform and rural development committee has called on the Ingonyama trust board (ITB) to abide by a court order and pay back rental fees to residents.

READ: Parliament's portfolio committee in KZN to assess state of Ingonyama Trust board

Three years ago, the Pietermaritzburg High Court set aside rental leases for communal land in KwaZulu-Natal, leading to outcry by affected communities.

 The committee will be meeting with the trust this week to ensure it abides by the ruling.

 The Ingonyama trust’s lease agreements required residents living on trust land to pay rent for land which their families had occupied for generations.

However, the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) took the matter to court on behalf of affected residents and won.

 The trust has still not paid out the rental fees it received.

 Committee chairperson, Albert Mncwango, told a parliamentary cluster briefing on Monday that they wanted the matter resolved.

“The court judgements in the CASAC matter instructed that the ITB must pay back monies it collected through these rentals for residential areas. Our oversight role is to ensure that the ITB prioritises implementation of the court order,” he said.

 Mncwango also said there was a need for a legislative review to address the issue of material benefits for the communities listed in the act.