DA calls for a moratorium on the eviction of farmers on State-owned land
19 October 2020
Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Thoko Didiza, must issue a moratorium banning all impending eviction notices against emerging farmers, occupying State land, until due diligent investigations are concluded by the Department’s Forensic Investigations Directorate on the farmer’s lease agreements.
Recently, there has been a worrying uptick in the number of eviction notices being served on farmers, especially emerging black farmers.
In one such case, DALRRD had to launch an investigation into Mr VuyisileZigana’s complaints against what he termed as unfair treatment and alleged corruption in relation to the allocation of Spionskop farm by the Department’s KwaZulu-Natal officials.
After considering the recommendations of the report, Minister Didiza wrote me a letter to give assurance that Mr Zigana’s caretakership rights of the farm will be honoured and that the Department will assist him with applying for a lease with an option to purchase.