Concerns over losing valuables when evicted
NHLANGANO – Farm dwellers are concerned about losing valuable items when they are evicted from farms due to disputes between them and farm owners.
)arm dwellers in two farms in the Shiselweni 5egion are faced with this predicament.
They alleged to be living under harsh conditions as they are wanted out of the farms in which they dwell. They argued that in terms of the law, they should be allocated alternative land and be compensated.
In one of the farms around *ege, community members are not able to farm since their homesteads are surrounded by tree plantations.
They are also not able to conduct funerals as they were told not to do so within the farm, yet there are other graves there.
Communities
The farm dwellers have to reTuest chiefs in nearby communities to bury their relatives.
They are made to pay a cow for each body they bury.
The residents, who recently went to attack a farm owner over the harsh conditions they were living under, complained that even their livestock was not allowed to graze in the plantations, hence they had to tie them next to their houses all the time.
In an attempt to find solutions, they went to the farm owners’ place to have an audience with him but did not see him. Instead, the royal kraal intervened. They listened to both sides of the story and concluded that they were supposed to wait for a verdict after the residents appealed the decision to evict them.
The farm owner had been instructed to relocate them but they appealed the decision. The farm dwellers felt the farm owner was not supposed to treat them harshly as the verdict might be in their favour.
In another incident around Mashobeni &hiefdom, a farm owner took over 200 livestock from the farm dwellers to his private property since they were not in good terms concerning their eviction from the farm.
The livestock was taken early last week and the owners have been worried if their livestock would survive, given that the livestock was not grazing. They met last week and went to the owner to seek an audience with him but were told that he would only be available last )riday.
They further went to report the matter to the royal kraal which called a meeting with the farm owner scheduled for last Saturday, but he did not show up.
Responsibility
When engaged on the role they played in ensuring there was peace between farm owners and dwellers Mashobeni 5oyal .raal Indvuna Sam Mdluli said they engaged the farm owners.
He acknowledged that it was their responsibility to ensure that there was peace even in farms as long as they were under their chiefdoms.
He stated that they were aware of the issue of conflicts on the two farms under the Mashobeni 5oyal .raal and they had taken action for both incidents, at *ege and Mashobeni.
He confirmed that they called the farm owner to a meeting but he did not show up. “We even tried to call him but he did not answer our calls yet he had confirmed that he would come,” said Mdluli. When asked what they had done to ensure the safety of the livestock within the farm, he said he saw the over 200 livestock being fed two bales of hay once ever since they were taken from their owners. He stated that they were following the issue as the farm was previously owned by a different man who had written agreements with the residents that he would not evict them from the farm but had laid down terms that they had to abide by.
Jobs
“The letters are much on maintaining peace and that the owner would consider them for jobs if he had any on the farm, depending on the season and what he was growing at that time,” added Mdluli.
He said the new owner did not have any agreement with the people on whether he would relocate them or they would continue to stay on the farm. Mdluli said the royal kraal would engage the office of the Shiselweni regional administrator 5A to intervene as they might be able to call the farm owner to come to them and discuss the matter further.
Meanwhile, the )arm 'wellers &ontrol Act, 2 states that there has to be an agreement entered into between an owner of a farm and an umnumzane head of home in accordance with a form set out in the Act wherein information is to be filled in the English language.
Contents
The Act states that there shall be a chairman of the )arm 'weller Tribunal &ommittee who shall approve the agreement entered into after having satisfied himself that the parties thereto know and understand the contents. There are also conditions to be considered as the Act states that labour supplied in excess of the period specified in the agreement shall be paid for by the owner at current rates as prescribed by regulation made under Section of the )arm 'wellers Act, .
It further touches on things that are expected to be done by the farm dweller, including giving a register of his dependent as well as livestock that he can keep in the farm.
“The farm dweller has the right to use manure from his homestead,” provides part of the Act.