LIMPOPO – This was evident after the Communal Property Association (CPA) of the community, which oversees the day to day running of the farm on behalf of the community failed to pay the salaries of over 110 employees for five months. The farm consists of 325 hectares of mangoes, 44 hectares of macadamia, 25 hectares of litchis, 35 hectares of bananas, seven hectares of carambola and 35 hectares of avocados.
The farm’s General Manager, Bennie Stopforth said the company was unable to pay the salaries of the farm-workers as the farm lost R1,5 million due to a protracted strike in June and July.
“We export fresh produce to China and America. But when our workers went on strike, we lost the income that would have made up their wages,” said Stopforth during an exclusive interview.
He said the situation on the farm was exacerbated by the continuing drought that hit the fertile land of Tzaneen and the surrounding hard.
“This resulted in the farm not generating enough revenue.”
Stopforth cited long-standing internal squabbles between the community and the CPA as one of the factors hindering progress.
He said the community wanted the current leadership of the CPA to step down as their term of office expired two year ago. Stopforth, who has more than 30 years’ farm experience said at the centre of the crisis is that the CPA has failed to submit financial reports to the community for the past four years.
Stopforth said management hoped they would be able to pay the salaries of the farm-workers this month as they are currently waiting for a financial injection from China.
The Chairperson of the CPA, Peter Matome Letsoalo confirmed there has not been any financial since the inception of the committee in 2011.
” There has been protracted battles between the CPA and the 253 beneficiaries to mediate on the farm.”
He said the last attempt to mediate was “marked by controversy between the board of directors, the department and management, which led to a loss in production.
The furore comes just days after the Dzumeri and Wayeni communities received R92 million in compensation from the Land Claims Commission. Political leaders praised government for the move but warned that a lack of financial management could hamper the sustainability of the farms.
