Limpopo Premier calls for calm after union urges farmers to fight land claims
Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) last week called on farmers whose land has been targeted for expropriation, either without compensation or at a lower market value, to not yield when expropriation finally takes place
LIMPOPO – The expropriation of land without compensation resulted in the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) urging farmers to fight the expropriation of their farms.
This announcement led Premier Chupu Mathabatha to call for calm, urging TAU members not to panic.
The union last week called on farmers whose land has been targeted for expropriation, either without compensation or at a lower market value, to not yield when expropriation finally takes place.
A decision to expropriate land without compensation was taken by the ANC during the party’s elective conference in December at Nasrec. The decision was in line with calls for the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution. Last week the ANC released a report indicating 139 farms had been identified to serve as test cases for the thorny issue relating to expropriation.
TAU SA North Chairperson, Henk van der Graaf, said the union was prepared to dispute the expropriation of land in Limpopo and question the legality of the amendment of the Constitution.
“Our union believes expropriation of land without compensation is tantamount to theft. It is equally thieving to expropriate land below market value,” Van der Graaf said.
“We urge the farmers identified to defend their land by signing the dispute document the union is going to submit to government.”
During the recent ANC Lekgotla in Mokopane, Mathabatha called on heads of departments, executives, ANC deployees and ANC leaders across the province to not be shaken by the announcement from the TAU.
He said the ANC was working to smoothen communication and clarity patterns, billed to ease the tension between the union and government.
“The ANC Lekgotla has called on government to urgently initiate the process to finalise the modalities for the implementation of the national conference resolution to expropriate land without compensation. The National Executive Committee emphasised the need to ensure the implementation is done in a manner that guarantees food security, greater agricultural output and complement the effort to attract investment and economic growth,” explained Mathabatha.
The DA did not pull punches criticising the ANC’s expropriation plan, calling the plan confusing and fuelling tension among communities in SA, calling it an election gimmick aimed at scoring votes ahead of the 2019 government elections.
“It is clear the ANC proposed amendment to the Constitution is being pursued with the intention of being railroaded through parliament, and not for the greater good of South Africa.
“The 139 farms earmarked for expropriation belong to farmers who previously rejected offers under the ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ model,” DA Chief Whip, John Steenhuisen, said.
Following a court order, two game farms in Limpopo in the Makhado area appear to be the first properties set to be expropriated. Government offered the owners R20 million for the land.
The owners, however, disputed the validity of the land claims on their property and the value of the land, wanting R200 million for the land.
While government is willing to pay for the land, the case comes as the ANC’s top structures have recently decided to urgently proceed with test cases in order to test the concept of expropriation without compensation.
