05 Jul 2017

Members of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi have accepted the Deeds Registry (Amendment) Bill 2017 with a recommendation that a proper definition of customary land right be sought.

Dikgosi argued that the definition of customary land right had not been clearly outlined in the bill.

Dikgosi were also of the view that they were relinquished of their powers to administer tribal land.

They said they played a vital role in adjudicating land dispute issues where families differed on who land should be transferred to because they knew the backgrounds of families in their territories.

Kgosi Mosadi Seboko said clauses on customary land grant were not explicitly outlined, and that the amendments sought may attract land disputes.

She said the sought amendments were likely to infringe on their right to adjudicate on land issues in cases where an extended family was left without a home because property had been registered under a particular individual.

She added that if the individual decided to sell the property  in the future other family members would be homeless.

Presenting the bill to Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Prince Maele said the Deeds Registry Act was promulgated in 1960,  and that over the years there had been challenges in the implementation of the act such as married persons defrauding their spouses by forging their signatures signifying consent when dealing with immovable property forming part of their joint estate, such as land.

He said the act also provided for a costly transfer of immovable property by spouses who were not registered owners where marriage was dissolved by death or divorce.

“The object of the bill is to amend the Deeds Registry Act to address the challenges that are faced by the implementation of the act. Tribal land unlike state land and freehold land is not registered at the Deeds Registry," he said.

A memorandum of the bill says land boards have been issuing unregistered certificates of customary grants, and that land was allocated without any records, neither of the land holder nor of the land itself.

Mr Maele said in order to ensure efficient, effective and transparent land administration, all existing land rights should be registered.

He said the bill would also ensure that financial institutions considered tribal land as collateral in the same way as plots on freehold and state land.

Minister Maele said the law was not meant to take the powers vested on dikgosi to control tribal land.

He said the amendment sought was meant to ease the use of plots for collateral purposes, noting that currently tribal land certificates went through a process of changing into common law when making a title deed.

“With the introduction of LAPCAS, we want all certificates to be registered. Therefore, we should amend the Deeds Registry to ensure that those plots at rural areas are registered,” he said.

“In the amendment sought, clause 8 of the bill amends section 18 of the act by including property subject to customary law by providing for the consent to be given by a spouse in the form of an affidavit sworn before a commissioner of oaths so as to curb a situation whereby one spouse defrauds another by forging their signature signifying consent when dealing with immovable property forming part of the joint estate,” he said.

Mr Maele said clause 9 of the bill amends section 43 of the act by providing for transfer by means of endorsement where marriage was dissolved by death, and the surviving spouse was not the registered owner.

He said it would afford spouses who were not registered owners the same opportunity extended to spouses who were registered owners by providing for endorsement rather than transfer.

He added that it was costly to transfer ownership of land in the event that the spouse has died and that the amendment seeks to close such gaps. ENDS