Black farmers allege govt officials demand R250K bribe for one to keep farming

The release of state-owned farms as part of the land reform programme has been rocked by allegations of bribery, harassment and intimidation, with a black farmer claiming officials demanded a R250,000 bribe for them to keep farming and receiving state aid.

Early this month, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza announced government would release 896 farms measuring 700,000 hectares of underutilised or vacant state land.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) in Mpumalanga have raised concerns that established farmers running successful operations on state land have received notices that their farms were available.

“You have farmers who have occupied land for decades, some were born on that land but now they have been told someone else would take over their farms. How does that help with land restitution? In some cases, the targeted farmers already knew who was going to take over,” party MP Annette Steyn, said.

She cited the case of John Mabaso, a Mpumalanga farmer who has been served with an eviction notice though the Goedhoop farm, between Ermelo and Piet Retief, was a successful enterprise in his family’s possession for generations. Steyn said in June, Mabaso was one of the farmers who wrote to Didiza requesting her intervention, claiming that state officials demanded payment in exchange for a 30-year lease.

“Those who did not comply, like Mabaso later received eviction notices. This practise is rife in Mpumalanga, especially around Ermelo,” she said.

Werner Weber, FF+ leader in Mpumalanga, said the party had requested Vusi Shongwe, Mpumalanga MEC for agriculture and land, to institute a thorough investigation into the allegations of bribery, harassment and intimidation against public officials.

“It appears that bribery and corruption in the department could result in the land being used to financially benefit the ANC elite and to obtain support for the ruling party,” he said.

Didiza’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, said no one had come forward with tangible proof of all the allegations, saying bribery was a criminal offence and those affected should report cases with the police.

“It is strange that the DA is peddling these allegations when there is not even a parliamentary question on this matter. We were in Mpumalanga last week listening to genuine concerns from farmers, none of this came up,” he said.

According to the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), it has since become apparent that, in about a third of cases, “vacant and underutilised” land earmarked for redistribution was already occupied and being actively used.

Cynically, Hermann Pretorius, IRR deputy head of policy research, said “vacant and underutilised” land included the farm occupied by David Rakgase, an industrious black farmer of repute. He said in 2019, Rakgase won a lengthy court battle that culminated in a court order instructing the state to sell him the land he had been farming for decades.

EFF leader, Julius Malema, a fierce proponent of land expropriation, backed the programme, saying those who qualify must get their share of the land.

“Let us not paint everything with the same brush. Let us isolate incidences of corruption and deal with them,” he said this week.

– siphom@citizen.co.za

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