Parliament, Sunday, 3 July 2022 – The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (ALRRD) and the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour yesterday conducted a joint oversight on 3 farms at Matlosana Local Municipality to assess the living and working conditions of farmworkers, farmdwellers and labour tenants.
The committees first visited Bona Bona Game Farm where it consulted and engaged with the farm workers on the conditions and dynamics of their employment. The committees found that the farm was non compliant with some of the legislation impacting farm labourers. The areas of non compliance included the non payment of the standard minimum wage and they were not compensated at the correct rate for overtime worked on a Saturday or Sunday. The farm was also not compliant with their payment towards the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Bona Bona Game Farm has been given 14 days to rectify the areas of non compliance and the Department of Employment and Labour will be following up with the farm. Inkosi Mandela said that, “ this visit must be seen in the light that we want better living and working conditions for farm workers, farm dwellers and labour tenants”.
Hartbeesfontein was the second farm that the committees visited to assess the farm dwellers/labour tenants access to land and their living conditions. The committees found that 52 families were relocated here from the surrounding farms when they were evicted. The farm was bought by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development however there were no homes to accommodate the 52 families. There were some temporary units on the farm whilst the others were living in shacks with no water, electricity or sanitation. The committee after engaging with the beneficiaries found that some of them were happy here whilst some still wanted to go back to where their loved ones were buried. The committee requested the Department of ALRRD to engage with the Department of Human Settlements and the municipality to fast track the building of houses and the delivery of services to the area.
Thereafter the committee visited Beatrix Farm where it had received a complaint at the stakeholder engagement on Friday that the Department of ALRRD was dragging its heels in assisting the owners of Beatrix Farm. The 642 hectare farm was acquired through the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) in 2014 for 13 families who had occupied the farm since 1952. The committee found the families were living in deplorable conditions in dilapidated mud and iron structures with no running water, electricity or sanitation. There unemployment rate is high and there is no agricultural activities on the farm.
The beneficiaries appealed to the committee to intervene and to fast track the approval of the business plan that was submitted by the provincial office to the national department. The approval of the business plan and the funding will assist them to build houses, ablution facilities, purchase production infrastructure and be able to start growing crops and live stock. The Department of ALRRD responded that the project was earmarked for funding in the current financial year 2022/23 through its Land Development Support Programme.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE LEADER OF THE DELEGATION OF THE JOINT OVERSIGHT TO THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE, INKOSI ZWELIVELILE MANDELA.
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