Another key milestone has been achieved in the HDA’s quest to release and transfer state land for human settlements in Rustenburg Municipality in the North West Province.
placeholder.jpgThe HDA facilitated not only the release but also the transfer and registration of Portion 3 (a portion of Portion 1) and the remaining extent of Portion 1 of the Hartebeesfontein 228 JQ farm – state-owned land under the control of the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. Through the facilitation of the HDA, the property was registered to the Rustenburg Municipality on 17 January 2014. The size of the property is 1 535.9195 hectares.
During the re-demarcation of the municipal area of Rustenburg in 1995, the township of Hartebeesfontein/Lethabong was included within the area of jurisdiction of the Rustenburg Transitional Local Council. The township of Hartebeesfontein/Lethabong Extension 3 was later established on the property. Residents on this property could not take transfer of their stands as they were still owned by the state.
The Rustenburg Municipality approached the HDA to facilitate the release of the property for the development of human settlements and tenure upgrading. Located about 50km west of Brits and about 40km north-east of Rustenburg, the property consists of surveyed stands that have been proclaimed. The area houses approximately 22 000 residents who are living in 569 formal houses and 4 217 informal structures. The municipality has already planned
1 000 additional new stands on the property.
Transfer of the property to the Rustenburg Municipality effectively enables it to deal with the administration of the Hartebeesfontein/Lethabong Extension 3 township and facilitate further human settlement developments. Township residents will enjoy benefits associated with upgraded tenure in the form of ownership.
The municipality has already expressed gratitude for the work of the HDA in view of the fact that it had battled for more than 10 years to resolve transfer of ownership of the property to itself.
