Motivation for the inclusion of Middleton and portions of the farm Riverside, Riverside area, into the greater jurisdiction of the Mabandla Traditional Authority. June 2017. Mabandla Traditional Authority

<p>There are five contiguous pieces of land adjacent to the Ngwangwane River which are under discussion. These are, from west to east, Brighton, Langford, Helvellyn, Middleton and Riverside. Currently, Brighton is under the legitimate stewardship of the Mabandla Traditional Authority, as per Transkei Gazette Government Notice 102, dated 20/11/1970. Langford and Helvellyn have legitimate stewardship as of an unsigned Memorandum of Agreement in 1999. The contiguous property Middleton was part of the expropriated block of land transferred to the South African Native Trust from Duncan Cole in 1962. This is still owned by the Republic of South Africa and yet is not knowingly included in any tribal stewardship. As a contiguous block with Helvellyn to the west and Riverside to the east, it follows similar land history as Riverside farm, centred around the hamlet of Riverside town. Both old Cole farms, the latter has a substantial section, the Remainder, adjoining Middleton farm. The small lots on Riverside farm are not in question, remaining fragmented and under a variety of landowners.</p>