Wyndham Hartley

Parliamentary Editor

CAPE TOWN — The Byzantine web of authority surrounding the Black Administration Act has caused Parliament’s justice committee to decide that any restrictive conditions of title imposed under the act must be removed once it is repealed.

Government tabled the Repeal of the Black Administration Act in August.

The act, which dates back to 1927, granted extraordinary powers to officials for the management of black affairs including tribal councils and the allocation of land. It gave previous governments total control over black people, allowing the state to appoint or demote traditional leaders, and prevented black women from leasing or owning property.

Committee chairwoman Fatima Chohan told the body yesterday that the real problems with the repeal of the act would come from things that "we do not even know about at this point".

For this reason the act, which should be approved by the committee today and goes to the National Assembly on Thursday, will contain a clause that says the registrar of deeds "must without charge remove any restrictive condition contained in a deed that was imposed by virtue of the operation of the act".

The land affairs minister will have to sanction the removal of such restrictions.

A further clause, called a "saving clause", seeks to protect people from having legitimate interests harmed by the repeal of the act. It says rights gained through the act that are "not inconsistent with the constitution" will not be lost as a result of the repeal of the law.