· The desired goal is that the Minister should be empowered to evaluate late submissions

· Our objective is that late applications, supported by facts, be accommodated

· The main objective of The Land Reform Policy is: to redress the injustices of apartheid, with specific reference to the returning of land lost as a result of racially discriminatory laws.

· The Act provided that all claims should be lodged by 31 December 1998, not taking into account that relevant records are unsorted and have resulted in the research being protracted.

· The Deeds registration system database was only implemented (not completed) during June1998

Current Situation

Notwithstanding the "Stake your claim" campaign, there were those especially in rural areas, who remained uninformed

Even if they were informed, the Access to Information Act was only passed during 2001, which is not in line with the cut-off date for lodging claims i.e. December 1998

Not only documentation, but also justice relevant to a claim was not easily accessible to formally disadvantaged communities

A typical example of this is a claim lodged by the Levepd&I'SOfS7MaiI? Street; Knysna (Annexure i). Undoubtedly there are others in similar situations who could not obtain the relevant information timeously for reasons previously stated

· The advantages, should The Minister consider late applications, are endless...the process will then be equal, fair and just as the injustices of apartheid cannot be attached to a date!

If one who has committed a crime does not appear on the specified date, it does not free nor condemn the accused...another date will be decided upon. Why then should a date deprive legitimate claimants of their just inheritance?

· It is clear that the initial process did not suffice the needs of all those who were brutally dispossessed

In order for the process to continue to function effectively, the constitutional rights to restitution must be guaranteed

· We reiterate the main objective of the Land Reform Policy and therefore lodge a very special appeal that late, but factual applications are