EC government says DA call to halt state evictions of emerging farmers not valid in province

While the DA has accused government of “rent-seeking behaviour” and urged it to halt the evictions of emerging farmers from state-owned land, the Eastern Cape government said this has not happened in the province.

DA MP Annette Steyn said that “the DA finds it hypocritical for the ANC government to pursue a constitutional amendment calling for expropriation of land without compensation while evicting successful black farmers from state land that they have put under productive use”.

The DA wants the minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, Thoko Didiza to ban all impending eviction notices against emerging farmers, occupying state land, until due diligent investigations are concluded by the Department’s Forensic Investigations Directorate on the farmer’s lease agreements.

Steyn said that in one such case the DA had investigated a complaint from farmer Vuyisile Zigana.

“Minister Didiza wrote me a letter to give assurance that Zigana’s caretakership rights of the farm will be honoured and that the department will assist him with applying for a lease with an option to purchase.

“While this is a welcome development, there are many more cases similar to Zigana’s which have paralysed thriving farming enterprises because of the uncertainty brought about by eviction notices,” said Steyn.

“Emerging farmers deserve a fair shot at scaling up their operations to commercial production and they can only do so without the unnecessary distraction of rent-seeking behaviour from corrupt land administration officials,” she said.

Ayongezwa Lungisa, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape  rural development and agrarian reform MEC  Nomakhosazana Meth, said Steyn's complaints were not true of the Eastern Cape.

“The province has 123 pieces of vacant land that can be legally occupied by emerging farmers. We, as the province, do not have any incidents where farmers are being evicted. We aim to place farmers in this state-owned land legally to avoid any conflict.”

Steyn said that she had recently been contacted by a successful black farmer in Mpumalanga, Velly John Mabaso, who said he had been served with an eviction notice. The Goedhoop farm from which Mabaso runs a successful enterprise has been in his family possession for generations.

“Mabaso’s farm cannot be classified under the underutilised category as he runs a successful livestock enterprise. He has repeatedly tried to negotiate with representatives from the DALRRD’s Mpumalanga offices in the hope that they could reach a mutual understanding on the terms of his lease agreement, but all his efforts have been in vain.”

Steyn said in June 2020, Mabaso was one of the farmers who wrote to  Didiza requesting her intervention, claiming that state officials demanded payment to secure leases.

State officials allegedly demanded R250, 000 in exchange for a 30-year lease agreement with the department of land affairs and rural development. Those who did not comply with this suggestion later received eviction notices.

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