Land reform hurdle

EXORBITANT prices for agricultural land in the Western Cape are hampering land reform.

This is according to Nomi Nkondla, a member of the provincial legislature, who said: “According to research which was done by PLAAS (Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies) the prices for farms in the Western Cape are the highest.

“This means that when the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform buys land from farm owners we have to pay exorbitant prices for land.”

One of the few black farmers in the Western Cape, Errol April, said it was true. April received his farm from the department as part of the programme where the government purchased private agricultural land for black farmers. He said his farm cost R13 million.

“And there are not a lot of black farmers in this country.

“Currently only 20% (of) food produced in South Africa stays in the country.

“The reason white farmers do this is because they sell their produce for much more overseas.”

Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Mcebisi Skwatsha said he had identified the Western Cape as a test case for land expropriation without compensation.

“After hearing that a possible 20 000 farmworkers in the Drakenstein Municipality, are facing evictions we decided to do something about it. The constitution allow us to expropriate land without compensation. The plight of farmworkers is that after 24 years of freedom, they still have not experienced freedom. People on farms are being oppressed by some farmers.” Skwatsha said.