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Jacob Zuma

Johannesburg — Some 750 South African families who say they were pushed out of their land on a natural reserve during apartheid will be handed over R84 million in compensation, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.

“We’ve come together about land, to restore the rights of our people who were dispossessed,” Zuma said in Kruger, South Africa’s largest natural reserve.

“Today we’re contributing to the reversal of the apartheid legacy by compensating six communities, three from Limpopo, and another three from Mpumalanga, all who were dispossessed through harsh apartheid laws,” he added.

“We’re awarding a total amount of 84 million rand to six communities,” Zuma said.

The 757 families who make up the six communities are the descendants of people expelled starting from the year 1930. While apartheid officially started in 1948, racial segregation began earlier.

They will be the first group to receive compensation on their claims on the Kruger national park, Zuma said. “We celebrate this milestone in the history of Land Restitution in our country,” he said.

The government has decided to compensate the families rather than return their land because Kruger is now a major natural reserve.

Since the end of apartheid rule in 1994, 8.2 million acres of land have been restituted to 1.9 million people, Nomfundo Ntloko-Gobodo, an official at the agriculture ministry, said.

— SapaJohannesburg — Some 750 South African families who say they were pushed out of their land on a natural reserve during apartheid will be handed over R84 million in compensation, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.

“We’ve come together about land, to restore the rights of our people who were dispossessed,” Zuma said in Kruger, South Africa’s largest natural reserve.

“Today we’re contributing to the reversal of the apartheid legacy by compensating six communities, three from Limpopo, and another three from Mpumalanga, all who were dispossessed through harsh apartheid laws,” he added.

“We’re awarding a total amount of 84 million rand to six communities,” Zuma said.

The 757 families who make up the six communities are the descendants of people expelled starting from the year 1930. While apartheid officially started in 1948, racial segregation began earlier.

They will be the first group to receive compensation on their claims on the Kruger national park, Zuma said. “We celebrate this milestone in the history of Land Restitution in our country,” he said.

The government has decided to compensate the families rather than return their land because Kruger is now a major natural reserve.

Since the end of apartheid rule in 1994, 8.2 million acres of land have been restituted to 1.9 million people, Nomfundo Ntloko-Gobodo, an official at the agriculture ministry, said.

— Sapa