Residents slam AfriForum for sowing panic with expropriation list
Department denies that there is a list or process for expropriating land without compensation.
MBOMBELA – The list of 195 farms AfriForum published over the weekend sent shock waves through the farming community, including in the Lowveld.
The organisation claimed it was a list of farms government planned to expropriate without compensation.
Residents and owners of the farms on the list were left confused and concerned, especially as AfriForum could not verify the actuality of the list. It claimed it was received from a trusted source in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.
WATCH: AfriForum releases alleged list of farms to be expropriated
On Monday Agri SA strongly condemned the publication of the list, questioning its validity and calling its release irresponsible.
“The list was published on the weekend and led to panic among landowners,” Agri SA said in a statement. “This follows an initial scare tactic by the ANC to target 139 farms for expropriation without compensation.
“Agri SA is in the process of establishing the legitimacy of the list of farms,” said Dan Kriek, president of Agri SA. “It is irresponsible of AfriForum to publish such unconfirmed information, knowing it to be inflammatory.
They added that cursory background research showed that the list contained several inaccuracies which could easily have been verified before release. This is also apparently the case in the Lowveld.
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In Ehlanzeni, Werksaam in White River and Daisy Kopje in Barberton were listed on the #farmlist. Both have been subdivided into smaller pieces with multiple individual owners.
Werksaam appears not to be a farm anymore. The original land was allegedly divided into smallholdings in 1942 and have since been sold off to individuals.
A resident who spoke to Lowvelder said they had never heard of any expropriation plans and that the area formed part of the City of Mbombela’s future plans for light industrial development.
Another said it was worrisome, but they were waiting to see what happens next.
“If AfriForum shared it without verifying the facts, they are sowing panic. That is just not right. They are making animosity between people who get along very well with one another.”
Trusted sources in the ANC denied that the list was real.
The report seemed not only to confuse property owners, but government officials as well, who struggled to deny the list’s veracity outright over the weekend.
On Monday, the department of rural development and land reform denied that the department has embarked on a process of expropriating land without compensation.
Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a statement that there is also no list farms for expropriation of land without compensation.
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“The Parliamentary process of consultations by the Constitutional Review Committee on the review of Section 25 is still in process. The amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution has not taken place. We therefore put it on record that the Dept. of Rural Development and Land Reform. The current legislative framework still requires just and equitable compensation for any expropriation of land.”
On Tuesday department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister Senzeni Zokwana commended Agri SA for publicly condemning the AfriForum statement about the so-called list of farms that government plans to expropriate.
“This latest confusion by AfriForum following their overseas drive to mobilise negative sentiments against South Africa is an act of sabotage. It is an act against the national interest of the country,” he said in a statement.
He called on all farmer organisations to work with the government.
“As government, we want to emphasise that the process of amendment of section 25 and the reform process in that nuanced context will not undermine food security and agricultural sector as a critical economic contributor to our country.
“We reassure that government will undertake a careful process mindful of all the factors,” he concluded.
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