ILG registration extended

The Department of Lands and Physical Planning has extended the registration of Integrated Land Groups (ILGs) to 2022.

Since 2012, 2000-plus ILGs have registered their land and the department, starting next year, will have teams going out to the provinces to register ILGs.

Over 18,000 Integrated Land Groups registered prior to 2012 will have to re-register their land.

Landowners from all sectors, including agriculture, mining and forestry are encouraged to do so before 2022. This is because all existing ILGs were never sanctioned properly, with over 70 percent of those identified as non-genuine landowners from the urban areas.

“Once the true landowners are identified, under the ILG, then that ILG can then survey their land and get their customary title and anybody that lives in that particular piece of land, then has to report to that ILG,” Lands and Physical Planning Minister Justin Tkatchenko said.

“Anybody that’s built their house on that land that never got their permission, has to deal with that ILG, whether they are going to be kicked off that land or pay rent or they make a particular understanding with that ILG,” he said.

Since 2012, only 2000-plus ILGs have re-registered.

The Lands and Physical Planning Department will now have a mammoth task to travel to the provinces next year to have customary landowners re-register their ILGs.

“The office here is open five days a week, we can still process that through the lands department but getting out there in the provinces to make it easier, we’ll start that process in two months,” Tkatchenko stated.

“The reason why we don’t want people to sell their land or make any investments in their land or whatever it is if it’s not a registered ILG, is because the question of who actually owns the land is still in doubt.”

(Lands and Physical Planning Minister Justin Tkatchenko)

Author: 
Sally Pokiton