Xhosa King Mpendulo Zwelonke Sigcawu has called on traditional houses to reclaim unused land in rural communities for farming projects to alleviate unemployment and poverty.
The king was visiting the Ncerha macadamia farming project near East London yesterday as part of his 100 days in office.
He was accompanied by a delegation of traditional leaders from the Centane traditional house.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday after the tour of the nut fields and a nursery in Ncerha, Sigcawu said he was impressed with the work being done by the company.
“If there is land that remained unused in a particular community for a period of three years it must be taken by the traditional authority and used for farming purposes to benefit the community.”
He said there were unemployed people from the Eastern Cape, who were migrating to the Western Cape and Gauteng in search of employment.
“That needs to end. They must return when these projects have been started to ensure that they plough back what they’ve learnt in those areas to their communities and they will also get jobs.
“These initiatives will also assist with regard to instilling discipline and work ethic among communities and ensure that we don’t have people sitting in shebeens all day.”
He said the chiefs were present to learn about what was happening in Ncerha.
Sigcawu’s kingdom is involved in a similar initiative at Amajingqi in Willowvale, with plans to extend to Xhora and Centane.
A team from Amajingqi had been sent to learn the skill of growing nuts at the Ncerha in the past few weeks.
One of the trainees, Andiswa Tyente, said she was excited there were prospects that she would be able to get a job to provide for her family. “I have two children and this is going to assist in bringing bread on the table.”
Ncerha operations manager Sithembele Dyasi, while conducting a tour for Sigcawu and other traditional leaders, said the company had been raking in awards from its peers in the industry this year for producing high quality nuts.
Sigcawu wants unused land reclaimed
The king was visiting the Ncerha macadamia farming project near East London yesterday as part of his 100 days in office.
He was accompanied by a delegation of traditional leaders from the Centane traditional house.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday after the tour of the nut fields and a nursery in Ncerha, Sigcawu said he was impressed with the work being done by the company.
“If there is land that remained unused in a particular community for a period of three years it must be taken by the traditional authority and used for farming purposes to benefit the community.”
He said there were unemployed people from the Eastern Cape, who were migrating to the Western Cape and Gauteng in search of employment.
“That needs to end. They must return when these projects have been started to ensure that they plough back what they’ve learnt in those areas to their communities and they will also get jobs.
“These initiatives will also assist with regard to instilling discipline and work ethic among communities and ensure that we don’t have people sitting in shebeens all day.”
He said the chiefs were present to learn about what was happening in Ncerha.
Sigcawu’s kingdom is involved in a similar initiative at Amajingqi in Willowvale, with plans to extend to Xhora and Centane.
A team from Amajingqi had been sent to learn the skill of growing nuts at the Ncerha in the past few weeks.
One of the trainees, Andiswa Tyente, said she was excited there were prospects that she would be able to get a job to provide for her family. “I have two children and this is going to assist in bringing bread on the table.”
Ncerha operations manager Sithembele Dyasi, while conducting a tour for Sigcawu and other traditional leaders, said the company had been raking in awards from its peers in the industry this year for producing high quality nuts.
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