Sir,
The people of Farm Doctor were humiliated in the mid-60s when their houses were demolished by the apartheid regime. The Farm Doctor people were removed to Sibongile. The ‘new’ democratic government resolved to restore the dignity of all people who were victimised. 
The majority of the claimants applied for financial compensation, but very few requested land compensation. Land claim officials, municipal officials and committees handled all applications. Today most people of the community of Farm Doctor are ostracised because of corruption orchestrated by land claim officials, Council officials and committee members. A sizeable number of people were told that system rejected them – reasons were not provided. Some were told that their files were lost; others were told that their files were left in the land restitution office. There is a feeling of having been exploited and humiliated. The people concerned requested a forum to convey the nature and form of their plight, thus the Farm Doctor Forum came into being in February. The forum started to raise the issues of these discrepancies and irregularities with land restitution officials. Unfortunately the plea of the claimants fell on deaf ears. The regional managers for Umzinyathi and uThukela are dilly-dallying. The forum requested that the department provide the list of all Farm Doctor claimants with the original addresses of the land from which they were removed. No list has been forthcoming. The forum made an approach to KZN Premier Mchunu in April. The prompt response of the Premier yielded a special investigating unit. The obvious questions raised by the constituency are as follows:
* Why do we have people on the list who are not from Farm Doctor? 
* Why were claimants rejected without reasons being shared with them?
* Why were committee members and officials’ associates given exclusive treatment and services? 
* Why is ambiguity with regard to the definitions of lodgers and minors not dealt with?
* Why are certain committee members not even originally from Farm Doctor? 
The forum demands the urgent release of the list of all claimants in order to enable people to engage the services of the special investigating unit, from an informed perspective. The forum subscribes to the following values: transparency, accountability, openness and good governance. Thus we are representing the victims of corrupt practice by the powers that be. 
Mzwakhe Sithebe – Farm Doctor Forum