DA wants meeting with committee to discuss Land Bank’s future

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to Zwelivelile Mandela, the chairperson of the agricultural, land reform and rural development portfolio committee, to urge him to schedule a meeting to discuss the future of the Land Bank.

On Tuesday, DA MP Annette Steyn said in a statement that reports on Monday indicated that the Land Bank was on the verge of defaulting on its debt.

“The entity’s woes have been brought on by the fact that for years, government has been slow in its response to various droughts and other agricultural disasters. This resulted in the Land Bank being unable to maintain a low default rate,” she said.

Steyn continued: “Impairments and defaulting clients increased which had an inevitable knock-on effect as some of the intermediaries that the Land Bank use to extend their facilities to, were also affected by this problem.”

She said the high vacancy rate, “the revolving door of chief executives”, as well as the Moody’s downgrade further exacerbated the problems at the entity.

“The financial and operational conditions at the Land Bank is a cause for great concern, especially in light of the myriad of challenges farmers are currently facing due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

“These challenges must be prioritised by parliament during this time and regular agriculture meetings should be placed on the parliamentary schedule,” she said.

Steyn said the matter prompted the DA to also write to Speaker of the National Assembly Thandi Modise to request that the committee be included in the essential portfolios meeting during this time.

“It is vital that parliament performs oversight and prioritises the industry during this lockdown. The recent drought and outbreak of diseases such as foot and mouth disease (FMD) have placed the South African agricultural sector at massive risk,” the mp added.

She said that agricultural debt was growing and was estimated at R200 billion currently, which 25% of the debt book of agriculture was funded directly through the Land Bank.

“The Land Bank was established in 1912 with the mandate to support the development of farmers and plays an important role in the agriculture community.

“It is therefore pertinent that food security and ensuring that farmers can proceed during this Covid-19 disaster period must get immediate attention. The failure of the Land Bank would be disastrous for many farmers,” Steyn concluded.

READ NEXT: Land Bank: Possible default on R50 billion notes.

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