DA wants urgent answers on alleged Land Bank land grabs

17 June 2022

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English & Afrikaans by Willie Aucamp, MP

The DA will be requesting Parliament’s Select Committee on Finance to convene an urgent meeting with the Land Bank following disturbing allegations of unconstitutional land occupations being instituted by ex 32-battallion soldiers on their behalf.

The DA has learned of an alleged incident that occurred in the Williston-Sutherland area yesterday whereby a sheep farmer came home to find his window broken and his home occupied by two ex 32-battallion soldiers. They informed the farmer, whose name is known to the DA, that his land now belonged to them because it was not paid for by the farmer. The farmer later returned to the farm with the police and his papers, whereby the two soldiers were subsequently arrested.

It is believed that this is not an isolated incident. It is alleged that a lawyer, working for the bankrupt Land Bank, is orchestrating the process whereby properties are being occupied, and then auctioned off by the Land Bank, at prices that are way below the market value.

The DA is outraged by the allegations of such despicable intimidation tactics being employed by the South African government. If it is true, it is not only an attack on our farmers, but also an attack on our democracy.

Farmers of the Northern Cape have not only had to battle a seven-year drought, with little to no support from the government, but also still have to try and keep up food production and make ends meet in an unprecedented economic climate, where diesel and electricity prices are sky-high.

Government, including its Land Bank, should be doing everything in its power to assist these struggling farmers to sustain their farming operations, such as giving them payment holidays. It should not be involved in employing dirty strategies to terrify farmers and their families in order to boot them off their land, while also threatening food security and fanning the flames of civil warfare.

I will today submit a letter to the Minister of Finance, requesting a report on this matter and to the chairperson of the Select Committee on Finance to summons the department and the Land Bank to come and jointly account. We need to get clarity on what is happening in the province’s outlying areas, as well as ascertain whether the Department of Finance is aware of this and who authorized this.

The DA will fight tooth and nail to support our farmers, protect property rights and prevent illegitimate land grabs.

Issued by Willie Aucamp, DA member of the NCOP, 17 June 2022