Land restitution an instrument of redress and reconciliation
Note to editors: the following speech was delivered by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille, at a land restitution event with the Davids family in Lotus River today.
28 July 2015
Members of the Mayoral Committee, Councillors, family members, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning, goeie môre, molweni, as salaam alaikum, shalom.
The Land Act of 1913 was one of the biggest wrongs of our past, causing damage to the lives of millions of South Africans.
Its legacy is still one of the biggest issues that our nation faces to date.
Land restitution is of great significance to the City of Cape Town because it is one of the greatest opportunities for redress and reconciliation.
We want to play our part in righting the wrongs of the past.
It is through healing in this manner that we can build a city where everyone feels a stronger sense of belonging.
It is therefore imperative for this administration to prioritise this as we work towards our goal of building an inclusive city.
Today, it is a privilege to release these 4 hectares of land worth about R1,8 million for settling the land claim of the family of the late Garaniesa Davids and Doud Davids who lost this land during forced removals in the apartheid period due to racial discrimination.
But today is a bittersweet occasion because the original claimants are not here to share in this day.
It is a day they fought very hard for.
My heart broke when I heard about their hardships.
Mr Doud Davis purchased this land when he stayed in a corrugated structure on the street to the left here.
He stayed in that structure with his wife, Garaniesa and their eight children.
His dream was for his children to have land to build their own houses on one day.
To make ends meet, he drove his wife around on their donkey cart while she sold fruits and flowers on the streets of Lotus River.
His children remember walking barefoot across this land to school every day.
Lotus River was declared a coloured group area in 1961 and Mr Davids purchased the land in 1963.
Two years later in 1965, he was subsequently dispossessed of his land.
2015 therefore marks the 50th anniversary of the dispossession.
Eventually, Mr Davids was able to purchase a house right opposite this land, on 6th Avenue.
For decades, Mr and Mrs Davids had to face the daily pain of looking over this land which was unjustly removed from them.
I cannot imagine the pain that the late Mr Davids must have endured on a daily basis as his eyes undoubtedly looked on the land that was rightfully his.
After Mr Davids died in 1980 and our democracy was ushered in in 1994, his wife started to fight for what was theirs.
A land restitution claim was lodged by the late Garaniesa on 7 February 1996.
Her children can clearly recount the numerous visits to the Commission of Restitution.
They remember every single setback.
But more than that, they remember her fighting spirit.
Even in her final moments on her deathbed in 2011, she called her son, Mr Nazeem Davids, into the room.
There, she made him promise that the children would continue to fight this battle and not give up until the land was returned to them.
I want to congratulate the family and also the late Mrs Davids for their perseverance.
You endured decades of waiting and we commend you for it.
You are an example of what is possible with patient determination.
Today, I am sure that your mother and father look down and smile upon you.
And we dedicate this celebration to them.
I hope that this story of hope reaches the ears of other claimants who are awaiting their own justice.
The story of the Davids teaches us not to lose hope.
I hope that they will be as inspired as I am, and remember to continue on.
I would like to wish the children of the Davids family well as they embark on this new chapter.
It is my hope that the years to come truly make up for the years that have passed.
I thank you.
God bless.
Issued by the City of Cape Town, July 28 2015
