Parliament, Monday, 25 July 2022 – A delegation of the joint committee of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour commended the farm manager of the Ventershoek farm for the farm’s compliance with labour laws and for the respect for human rights for all on the farm.
The delegation visited Ventershoek and Sonop farms that are situated in the Sara Baartman’s Bantoos citrus region as part of its three-day oversight visit in the Eastern Cape on Saturday. The delegation split into two groups to be able to reach production sections of the farm to assess the working conditions of farm workers and houses of farm workers to assess their living conditions. The delegation also visited the administration office of the farm where it viewed the register containing the names of all the employees of the farm.
Although the manager assured the delegation that there are no foreign nationals among their employees, but the delegation which was accompanied by home affairs’ immigration officers discovered that there were foreign nationals among the employees of the Ventershoek farm in the register of employees. Except that, however, the delegation was happy with the manner in which the farm complies with labour laws and promoting the culture of human rights in the farm. All the groups that visited different sections of the farm reported that the farm deals with its workers and dwellers with dignity.
The leader of the delegation and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour, Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa, advised the manager to ensure that the farm has clear programme in place of empowerment for its workers. She said: “Empowerment of your employees should be one of the pillars of this farm to keep it alive, sustainable and to make the required meaningful impact on the greater Patensie community for the purposes of the development of the historically marginalised and disadvantaged black Patensie communities,” emphasised Ms Dunjwa.
The delegation visited Sonop farm which is also in the Gamtoos region of Kouga Local Municipality also to assess the living and working conditions of farm workers. The farm manager told the delegation that about 80% of its employees are foreign nationals. When asked by members of the delegation about their legal status to be in South Africa. The manager assured the delegation that all of them are documented.
To justify that very big percentage of foreign nationals in his employees, he said they rely on Zimbabweans for seasonal work as local people don’t want to work and are unreliable for seasonal work that should be done and finished within a very limited time. When the delegation visited the houses to assess the living conditions of farm dwellers, all the foreign nationals who work at the farm fled, some of them ran to the top of the Patensie mountain and some to the river to ensure that members of the delegation were unable even to see them. The delegation concluded that they ran because they are undocumented.
In the Amathole District Municipality where the delegation visited two farms, it heard horrifying stories of abuse of farm workers and farm dwellers by both farm owners. The use of constructive and forced eviction, disconnection of electricity and water, and cutting the link between farm dwellers and the nearby communities is common and a very painful strategy both farmers use to force their workers to succumb to their abusive, unbearable and excruciating working conditions.
Ms Dunjwa called on farm dwellers and farmers to engage each other in the event of the explosion of the very old and deepened contradictions between them. “Please while long term solutions are sought on these problems, but please don’t get into the temptation of a full-scale war when you feel the heat. Solutions lie between yourselves,” Ms Dunjwa said. She appealed to the local leaders that included ward councillors who accompanied the delegation during the visits to the farms to assist farm dwellers in finding solutions to these daily and painful problems farm dwellers experience.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTOLIO COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR AND LEADER OF DELEGATION, MS LINDELWA DUNJWA.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Mava Lukani
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 0815031840
E-mail: mlukani@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour