
Agricultural Land Act (Rehoboth), 1981
Act 5 of 1981
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Published in Official Gazette of Rehoboth no. 37 on 21 August 1981
- Assented to on 28 July 1981
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Commenced on 1 September 1981
- [Up to date as at 14 July 2020]
In this Act, unless the context indicates -“advertise” means to distribute to members of the public or bring to their notice in any other manner any written, illustrated, visual or other descriptive material or oral statement, communication, representation or reference;“agricultural land” means any land except -(a)land of which the Government is the owner of which is held in trust for any person by the Government;(b)land which the Kaptein in terms of a decision of the Kaptein’s Council excludes from the provisions of this Act by notice in the Official Gazette of Rehoboth;“building” means any building erected or used for any purpose whatsoever, and includes any other structure, whether of a temporary or permanent nature and irrespective of the materials used in the erection thereof, so erected or used;“Chief Director” means the Chief Director of Rehoboth;“citizen” means a citizen of Rehoboth referred to in section 5 of the Rehoboth Self-Government Act, 1976 (Act No. 56 of 1976 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa);[The Rehoboth Self-Government Act 56 of 1976 is repealed by the Namibian Constitution.]“Government” means the Government of Rehoboth;“Government land” means all land of which the Government is the owner of which is held in trust for any person by the Government or which is in the possession of the Rehoboth Baster Community, including the Rehoboth Townlands, the Community farms, the Government farms and such land as the Kaptein’s Council may purchase in terms of the provisions of this Act;“Kaptein’s Council” means the Kaptein’s Council referred to in section 2 of the Rehoboth Self-Government Act, 1976 (Act No. 56 of 1976 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa);[The Rehoboth Self-Government Act 56 of 1976 is repealed by the Namibian Constitution.]“Legislative Authority of Rehoboth” means the Legislative Authority of Rehoboth referred to in section 4 of the Rehoboth Self-Government Act, 1976 (Act No. 56 of 1976 of the Parliament of the Rpublic of South Africa);[The word “Republic” is misspelt in the Official Gazette of Rehoboth. The Rehoboth Self-Government Act 56 of 1976 is repealed by the Namibian Constitution.]“Official Gazette of Rehoboth” means the official Gazette of Rehoboth;“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation;“Registrar of Deeds” means the registrar of deeds appointed, under section 3 of the Registration of Deeds in Rehoboth Act, 1976 (Act No. 93 of 1976 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa), in respect of the registry established by section 2 of the said Act;“regulation” means a regulation made under this Act;“Rehoboth Gebiet” means the Gebiet referred to in section 1 of the Rehoboth Self-Government Act, 1976 (Act No. 56 of 1976 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa);[The Rehoboth Self-Government Act 56 of 1976 is repealed by the Namibian Constitution.]“right”, in relation to agricultural land, does not include any right to minerals or a prospecting or mining right;“statutory body” means -(a)any board or body which has been established by or under law and whose funds consist wholly or partly of moneys appropriated by the Legislative Authority of Rehoboth in aid of such board or body;(b)any other board or body which the Kaptein may in terms of a decision of the Kaptein’s Council by notice in the Official Gazette of Rehoboth declare to be a statutory board or body for the purpose of this Act;“Surveyor-General” the official appointed in terms of section 4 of the Land Survey Act, 1927 (Act No. 9 of 1927 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa), as Surveyor-General for the region in which the Rehoboth Gebiet is situated;[The Land Survey Act 9 of 1927 has been replaced by the Land Survey Act 33 of 1993.]“this Act” includes the regulations. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply in respect of -(a)(i)any subdivision of land for the purpose of transferring a portion thereof to the Government or a statutory body;(ii)the transfer of an undivided share in land to the Government or a statutory body;(iii)the sale or grant of any right to any portion of agricultural land to the Government or a statutory body;(b)any subdivision of, or the passing of an undivided share in, any land in accordance with a testamentary disposition or intestate succession, if the testator died before the commencement of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act, 1970 (Act No. 70 of 1970 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa);(c)the passing of an undivided share in any land in accordance with a contract entered into prior to the commencement of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act, 1970 (Act No. 70 of 1970 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa);(d)any subdivision of any land in connection with which a surveyor has completed the relevant survey and has submitted the relevant subdivisional diagram and survey records for examination and approval to the Surveyor-General prior to the commencement of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act, 1970 (Act No. 70 of 1970 of the Republic of South Africa);(e)the registration of a lease referred to in section 3(d) in respect of a portion of agricultural land, concluded in writing prior to the commencement of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Amendment Act, 1974 (Act No. 19 of 1974 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa). Subject to the provisions of section 2 -(a)agricultural land shall not be subdivided;(b)no undivided share in agricultural land not already held by any person, shall vest in any person;(c)no part of any undivided share in agricultural land shall vest in any person, if such part is not already held by any person;(d)no lease in respect of a portion of agricultural land of which the period is 10 years or longer, or is the natural life of the lessee or any other person mentioned in the lease, or which is renewable from time to time at the will of the lessee, either by the continuation of the original lease or by entering into a new lease, indefinitely or for periods which together with the first period of the lease amount in all to not less than 10 years, shall be entered into;(e)no portion of agricultural land, whether surveyed or not, and whether there is any building thereon or not, shall be sold or advertised for sale, and no right to such portion shall be sold or granted for a period of more than 10 years or for the same person for periods aggregating more than 10 years, or advertised for sale or with a view to any such granting,unless the Kaptein’s Council has consented in writing. The Fund shall be applied by the Kaptein’s Council -(a)to purchase land subject to the provisions of Chapter IV;(b)to defray the costs of the administration of the Fund and such other expenditure as the Kaptein’s Council may determine for achieving the objects of Chapter IV. The provisions of section 31 of the Rehoboth Self-Government Act, 1976 (Act No. 56 of 1976 of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa), shall mutatis mutandis apply in respect of the examining, enquiring into and auditing of the accounts and financial statements of the Fund.[The Rehoboth Self-Government Act 56 of 1976 is repealed by the Namibian Constitution.] Subject to the provisions of this Act the Kaptein’s Council may sell Government land for agricultural purposes to citizens in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon. The Kaptein’s Council may purchase land in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon in order to citizens for agricultural purposes in accordance with the provisions of section 11. The Kaptein’s Council may at its discretion consolidate or in any other way join pieces of land referred to in section 12 in order to sell it for agricultural purposes. No person shall utilise land which has been sold to him in terms of section 11 for other than agricultural purposes without the written consent of the Kaptein’s Council. [The heading seems to be missing the word “to”; it should probably be “Submission of report to Legislative Council”.]A report containing all the relevant particulars of all land transactions entered into under this Chapter during the previous calender year shall annually be submitted to the Legislative Council by the Kaptein’s Council.[The word “calendar” is misspelt in the Official Gazette of Rehoboth.] The provisions of the Agricultural Credit Act, 1979, shall mutatis mutandis apply in respect of an application for financial assistance by a citizen which may arise from a transaction in terms of section 11. The Chief Director may either generally or in any particular case authorize any person to enter upon any land at all reasonable times with the consent of the owner or other person ostensibly in control and to carry out thereon such investigations or to perform thereon such other acts as are necessary or expedient for achieving the objects of this Act. [The phrase “duties of fees” in the heading should probably be “duties or fees”, as in the text of the provision.]Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law no duties or fees of office shall be payable in respect of any document drawn up for the purposes of this Act and submitted to the Registrar of Deeds for registration or filing. The Kaptein’s Council may delegate to the Chief Director or any other officer in the employ of the Government any power conferred upon it by this Act (excluding the powers referred to in section 8(2) and (3), 11, 12, 13, and 20 and the powers derived from the Act mentioned in section 16, as applied in terms of the said section 16. Any person who -(a)in any application or other document for the purposes of this Act makes any statement which is false in any material respect, knowing it to be false, or fails to disclose any information with intent to deceive;(b)contravenes the provisions of section 3(d) with regard to the entering into of a lease contemplated therein;(c)contravenes the provisions of section 3(e);(d)contravenes or fails to comply with a condition imposed in terms of section 4(2);(e)hinder or obstructs in the performance of his functions any other person acting under an authority from the Chief Director in terms of section 17,shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction a fine not exceeding five hundred rand or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, and in addition, in the case of an offence contemplated in paragraph (c) or (d), to a fine not exceeding tend rand in respect of each day on which the offence continues.[The word “to” appears to be missing in the phrase “liable on conviction to….”.] This Act shall be called the Agricultural Land Act, 1981, and shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the Kaptein’s Council and promulgated by notice in the Official Gazette of Rehoboth.
Chapter I
DEFINITIONS
1. Definitions
Chapter II
SUBDIVISION
2. Actions excluded from application of Chapter
3. Prohibition of certain actions regarding agricultural land
4. Application for consent of Kaptein’s Council
5. Succession
6. Duties of Surveyor-General and Registrar of Deeds
7. Registration of servitudes
Chapter III
REHOBOTH CONSOLIDATION FUND
8. Establishment and control of Rehoboth Consolidation Fund
9. Application of moneys in Fund
10. Auditing or accounts of Fund
Chapter IV
SALE, PURCHASE AND CONSOLIDATION
11. Sale of Government land
12. Purchase of land by Kaptein’s Council
13. Consolidation
14. Utilisation of land
15. Submission of report Legislative Council
16. Financial assistance
Chapter V
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
17. Entry upon and investigations on land
18. Payment of duties of fees
19. Delegation of powers
20. Regulations
21. Offences and penalties
22. Repeal of laws
23. Short title and commencement