At least five of South Africa’s seven land commissioners have quit after the Minister of Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti re-evaluated their positions and moved them down a notch. Provincial commissioners currently earn just over R1-million a year with the chief commissioner earning R1,4-million.
Nkwinti told the commissioners that he planned to peg salaries at a maximum of R840k a year and reduce the chief land claims commissioner’s salary to R1-million. Despite protests from the land commissioner, Nkwinti refused to budge and the commissioners consequently refused to renew their contracts.
Acting chief land claims commissioner, Sibusiso Gamede led the mass exodus last Friday and cited “personal reasons” for his decision. He has already accepted an alternative position in the private sector. He had been in the job for just a year.
Other land claims commissioners who are leaving the department include Western Cape’s Beverly Jansen, Eastern Cape’s Linda Faleni, Jabu Hlongwane of the Free State and Northern Cape and Tumi Seboka, responsible for Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga.
They have all confirmed that they are leaving the department at the end of March.
Last month KwaZulu-Natal commissioner, Siduduzile Sosibo also also quit the commission. Limpopo’s Tele Maphoto is the only land claims commissioner to have accepted the revised package.
The commissioners who have resigned have sternly criticised Nkwinti claiming that he had no right to scale down the salary grades particularly as the provincial land claims commissions were bigger than some other provincial government departments and yet these commissions had to be run without the benefit of support staff such as financial officers and others.
Apparently the wrangling over salaries is believed to have delayed settlement of various land claims including those for District Six, where 15 000 claimants are awaiting settlement alongside many others including those involving the Kruger Park wildlife sanctuary.
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