NORTHERN RHODESIA (NATIVE TRUST LAND) Order In Council, 1947.
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1947/2214 |
| Year | 1947 |
1947 No. 2214
FOREIGN JURISDICTION
Native Trust Land
THE NORTHERN RHODESIA (NATIVE TRUST LAND) ORDER IN COUNCIL, 1947.PRESENT,
The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.
Whereas a Commission was appointed by His Excellency the Governor of Northern Rhodesia in the year 1942 to enquire into what land in Northern Rhodesia not already alienated should be set aside as Crown Land and what land should be constituted Native Trust Land:
And whereas the Commission has made certain recommendations to which it is expedient to give effect in manner hereinafter appearing:
Now, therefore, His Majesty, in pursuance of the powers vested in Him by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, and of all other powers enabling Him in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
1. This Order may be cited as the Northern Rhodesia (Native Trust Land) Order in Council, 1947, and shall be read and construed as one with the Northern Rhodesia Order in Council, 1924 (a), as from time to time amended.
2. In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires:—
"Gazette" means the Northern Rhodesia Government Gazette;
"Native" means any member of the aboriginal tribes or races of Africa and includes any person having the blood of any such tribe or race and living among and after the manner of any such tribe or race;
"Native Authority" means a native authority declared to be a native authority or recognised as a native authority under the Native Authority Ordinance, 1936, or any Ordinance amending or substituted for that Ordinance;
"Native Trust Land" means the land set apart by this Order for the sole use and benefit, direct or indirect, of the natives of Northern Rhodesia and any land which may hereafter be constituted native trust land by any Order in Council amending this Order;
"Occupier" means any person to whom a right of occupancy has been granted under Section 5, a person whose title has been confirmed under Section 4, and a native or native community lawfully using or occupying land in accordance with native law and custom;
"Public purposes" includes the following purposes—
(a) for exclusive Government use, for the use of the native inhabitants of Northern Rhodesia, or for general public use;
(b) for or in connexion with sanitary improvements of any kind including reclamations;
(c) for or in connexion with the laying out of any new township or Government station, or the extension or improvement of any existing township or Government station;
(d) for or in connexion with aviation;
(e) for the construction of any railway authorised by legislation;
(f) for obtaining control over land contiguous to any railway, road, or other public works constructed or intended at any time to be constructed by Government;
(g) for obtaining control over land required for or in connexion with mining purposes;
(h) for the conservation and production of forest produce;
"The Fund" means the Native Trust Land Fund established under Section 7;
(a) S.R. & O. 1924 No. 324, p. 154 above.
"The Secretary of State" means the person for the time being holding the office of His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies;
"Unexhausted improvement" means anything or any quality permanently attached to the land directly resulting from the expenditure of capital or labour by an occupier or any person acting on his behalf, and increasing the productive capacity, the utility or the amenity thereof, but does not include the result of ordinary cultivation other than growing crops or other produce.
3.—(1) The land described in the Schedule hereto is hereby declared to be Native Trust Land.
(2) When any land lying within the boundary of Native Trust Land as set out in the Schedule hereto but expressly stated in the Schedule not to be Native Trust Land is surrendered or reverts to the Crown it shall become Native Trust Land or continue to be excluded as the Governor may declare by notice in the Gazette.
4.—(1) All Native Trust Land is hereby vested in the Secretary of State and shall, subject to the provisions of this Order and to the general or special directions of the Secretary of State, be administered and controlled by the Governor for the use or common benefit, direct or indirect, of the natives of Northern Rhodesia.
(2) No titles claimed by persons other than natives to the use and occupation of any such land shall be valid unless and until they have been confirmed by the Governor.
5.—(1) Subject to the general or special directions of the Secretary of State, the Governor may, when it appears to him to be in the general interests of the community as a whole—
(a) grant rights of occupancy of Native Trust Land to natives and non-natives;
(b) demand a rental for the use of any Native Trust Land granted to a native or non-native;
(c) revise the said rentals at intervals of not more than thirty-three years;
(d) acquire Native Trust Land for public purposes;
(e) set aside in Native Trust Land forest and game reserves and take such measures as may be necessary for the development and control of such reserves;
(f) take such measures to control settlements and methods of cultivation on Native Trust Land as may be necessary for the preservation of the natural resources of the land;
(g) take such measures, whether or not similar to the above measures, which may be necessary to conserve forest produce, water and the natural resources of the land;
(h) grant a right of occupancy in any Native Trust Land in exchange for any interest in Crown lands:
Provided that the acreage of such Crown lands shall not be less than the acreage of Native Trust Land in which the right of occupancy is granted, and on such exchange the Governor may declare by notice in the Gazette that the land surrendered shall become Native Trust Land or remain Crown lands.
(2) In exercise of his powers under the preceding sub-section the Governor shall have regard to the native laws and customs existing in the district in which the land is situated: and, before any Native Trust Land in an area over which a native authority has been established is disposed of, the native authority shall be consulted.
(3) The whole of the proceeds accruing from the exercise of any of the powers conferred upon the Governor by sub-section (1) of this Section other than under sub-paragraph (e) thereof shall, subject to the provisions of Clause (3) (C) of the Agreement dated 29th September, 1923, between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the British South Africa Company, be paid into the Fund:
Provided that where any right of occupancy is granted in pursuance of an exchange effected in accordance with the provisions of sub-paragraph (h) of sub-section (1) of this Section the proceeds of such disposal may be paid into the general revenue of the Territory.
(4) In the event of any Native Trust Land being acquired for public purposes compensation shall be paid to any occupier for the value at the date of acquisition of his unexhausted improvements and for the inconvenience caused by his disturbance, and compensation for the land acquired shall be paid into the Fund, but no compensation shall be payable merely on the ground that land may at some unascertainable future date be cultivated. The compensation payable to the occupier shall be fixed by agreement or, failing agreement, by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Ordinance, 1933, or of any Ordinance amending or substituted for that Ordinance.
(5) Out of the profits or rents accruing from any area of Native Trust Land set aside as a forest or game reserve under the provisions of Section 5 (1) (e) of this Order there shall, subject to the provisions of the Agreement referred to in sub-section (3) above, be paid first the expenditure necessarily incurred by the Government in connexion with the said area, whether by way of maintenance, development, or otherwise, and the balance shall be paid into the Fund, or into the treasury of the native authority concerned, as the Governor shall direct.
(6) Rights of occupancy shall be for any term not exceeding ninety-nine years and shall be granted subject to the terms of any contract which may be made between the Governor and the occupier, but the Governor shall not (save in the case of a right granted in connexion with a mining grant or mining location) grant rights of occupancy to any non-native free of rent or upon any condition which may preclude him from revising the rent at intervals of not more than thirty-three years.
6.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Order, or in any regulations from time to time made thereunder, the owners of the minerals in Native Trust Land shall retain and be free to exercise their rights subject to the conditions hereinafter set out.
(2) Any person recognised by the Governor, or by a duly authorised officer on his behalf, as being entitled to the exercise of mineral rights within Native Trust Land may enter upon such land together with the persons employed by him for the purpose of exercising such rights, and may exercise the said rights subject to the provisions of the Mining Proclamation, 1912, or of any law amending or substituted for that Proclamation and of the laws and regulations from time to time in force in Northern Rhodesia:
Provided that the person so entitled and the persons so employed by him as aforesaid or any of them shall be liable to be removed from Native Trust Land at any time by order of the Governor if in his opinion such removal is desirable in the interests of the natives inhabiting Native Trust Land.
(3) The person carrying on mining operations shall pay compensation—
(a) to any occupier in respect of any unexhausted improvements which have been interfered with in any way by such operations;
(b) to any occupier for any substantial inconvenience caused by such operations;
(c) to the Fund in respect of damage to Native...
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