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Land Survey Act, 1997 (Act No. 8 of 1997)

26. Resurvey of townships

 

(1) If the recognised boundaries of the pieces of land which compose a township do not conform with the boundaries represented on their respective separate diagrams or the general plan, the Minister may cause the township, or any part thereof to be resurveyed and a superseding general plan thereof to be prepared in accordance with the resurvey: Provided that the resurvey of any township or part thereof falling within the area of jurisdiction of a local authority shall be carried out only after written application for the resurvey has been made to the Minister by that authority.

 

(2) Before any local authority applies to the Minister for a resurvey of any township or part thereof falling within its jurisdiction it shall, in consultation with the Surveyor-General, publish a notice in the prescribed manner of the intended application, and also post the notice outside its office: Provided that should no local authority have been established for the township, or if there is a local authority which is not by law empowered to incur expenditure for that purpose, the Surveyor-General shall, before any resurvey is commenced, cause a notice of the intended resurvey to be published as aforesaid, and have the notice posted outside the office of the magistrate of the district in which the township is situate.

 

(3) A resurvey under this section shall be based on reference marks erected in terms of section 40: Provided that any reference marks erected before the  commencement of this Act and conforming with the requirements of that section shall be deemed to have been erected in terms of that section.

 

(4) A resurvey under this section shall be carried out and the superseding general plan shall be prepared under the direction of the Surveyor-General by a land surveyor appointed by the Surveyor-General: Provided that where the township falls within the area of jurisdiction of a local authority, that local authority may, subject to the concurrence of the Surveyor-General, appoint the land surveyor.

 

(5) No beacon or boundary which has become lawfully established in accordance with section 35 shall be affected by any resurvey or other act performed under this section.

 

(6)

(a)

(i) All costs of and incidental to the resurvey shall (except in respect of State land) be borne by the local authority of the resurveyed township and, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, that local authority may levy a special rate payable by the registered owners of land within the resurveyed area in proportion to the value of the land (including non-ratable land other than State land) held in ownership by each in order to cover the costs of and incidental to the resurvey of any portion thereof.
(ii) The costs of and incidental to the resurvey which shall be payable by the State in respect of State land shall be determined by the Minister, after consultation with the local authority concerned.
(iii) For purposes of paragraph (a)(i) ‘‘the value of the land’’ means the valuation of that land appearing in the valuation roll used for rating purposes by the local authority concerned, or in the absence of such valuation, a valuation approved by the Minister after consultation with the local authority.
(b) If no local authority has been established for the township, or if a local authority is not by law empowered to incur expenditure for the purpose, the owners of land (including the State) in the resurveyed area shall bear the costs of and incidental to the resurvey in accordance with a schedule prepared by the Surveyor-General, apportioning the costs among all the owners.
(c) Before the resurvey is commenced the owners, other than the State, shall deposit with the Minister an amount sufficient to cover their proportionate share of the costs, and if their share of the actual costs is less than the amount deposited, the difference shall be refunded to them, and if that share is in excess of the amount deposited, the Minister may recover the difference from them by action in the court.