Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Protesters demand Ramaphosa act
Organisations call for moratorium on farm evictions
CLOSE to 100 farmworkers gathered outside the offices of the provincial Department of Rural Development and Land Reform yesterday to voice their grievances over looming farm evictions.
According to the protesters, there are more than 20 000 people who were threatened by farm evictions.
Organised by the Tshintsha Amakhaya and led by campaign officer Sobantu Mzwakali, the group marched from Riebeeck Street to the provincial offices chanting “No, no evictions”.
Mzwakali called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to directly intervene.
“This is part of our #NoToEvictions campaign calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to immediately suspend all farm evictions in a formally signed moratorium which guarantees concessions to be awarded when the moratorium is breached and penalties levied against those involved in evictions,” Mzwakali said.
The protesters gathered at the entrance to the building in Long Street clad in red and black. They included members of the Women on Farms organisation and the Surplus People’s Project.
The protesters demanded the release of all records dating back from January 2016 to January 2019 relating to farm evictions, as well as that Western Cape farms be used as a testing ground for “land expropriation without compensation”.
“It’s not right. We go from a big house to a small house,” one of the protesters shouted.
Siphamandla Mbede, deputy director of the department, met the protesters outside the entrance.
As he addressed the crowd on behalf of the department, the protesters shouted, “Speak Afrikaans” and “We want Ramaphosa”.
“I am authorised by the department to receive the memorandum,” Mbede announced to the protesters. “The memorandum will be forwarded to the president as well.”
The marchers said they were frustrated and angered as they felt that once again Ramaphosa had not responded to their demands.
“We want Ramaphosa, not his children,” one of the protesters s houted as the memorandum was handed over.
“There are children who born on the farm. Their grandparents worked on the farm and buried on the farm. Now the children have nothing,” shouted another protester.
Some of said that if there was no change they would not vote for Ramaphosa in the next election.
“No service delivery, no vote,” the protesters shouted.