The government has intervened at a high level at Odendaalsrus after land reform beneficiaries alleged that government officials were threatening them and trying to force them out of land that was handed over to them in 2011.
A delegation led by Mzwanele Nyhontso, Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, visited the emerging farmers of the Melkkraal farm and the Kutlawong Farm Cooperative recently after the SABC reported on the farmers’ complaints on Christmas Day.
Nyhontso was accompanied by MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae, Free State Premier, and Elzabe Rockman, Free State MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs.
Tsidi Setai, spokesperson for the Free State Premier’s Office, told Netwerk24 they want to prevent a second Free State Vrede dairy scandal. According to Setai, an official from the Free State department turned to the media because he felt the emerging farmers were being treated unfairly.
The emerging farmers accuse Free State officials from the national department of corruption and heartlessness. According to the farmers, they have been threatened with eviction from the Melkkraal farm since 2019. The 1 863 ha farm was given to the farmers in terms of a lease agreement, but in the meantime a new owner has apparently already acquired 1 200 ha of it. They only have 600 ha left on which they can farm and that is too little for their livestock.
During the meeting, Nyhontso, according to a statement from the Free State department, stressed that civil servants are there to serve communities and that wrongdoing within the state will not be tolerated. “We will not just be guided by reports, but will engage with our farming communities to find solutions on how we can help emerging farmers become commercial farmers. We cannot allow our people to fail.”
Letsoha-Mathae said government should not be guided by the media. She said they did, however, appreciate the reporting and the role of the media. She stressed that beneficiaries would never be evicted from the farm.
Rockman added that people should never be given land without resources because this would lead to failure. “The province and the national department must work together to find solutions to the problems. We cannot allow the agricultural community to be unproductive.”
Nyhontso pledged to investigate further, act accordingly and return to the farmers for another discussion session.
