Protection for land grant beneficiaries

“IMPROVED control measures” are to be put in place to prevent people, including corrupt government officials, from stealing land and livestock from poor and vulnerable beneficiaries of its land redistribution programme, says the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs.

It was commenting in response to this week’s conviction of a former Kwazulu-natal official, Patrick Masoka, who was found guilty in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court of masterminding a scheme that enabled him and his family to gain control of a commercial farm, its implements, livestock and development grants worth more than R1 million that had been awarded to a labour tenant community.

The court convicted Masoka of fraud and theft.

National spokesperson Linda Page said the department welcomed “the conviction of any person who seeks to take advantage of our poor and vulnerable beneficiaries”.

While the case highlighted the need for a full audit of ownership of farmland that has been acquired for land redistribution, the department declined to advise whether this would be done in future.

But the department said it has “taken steps to ensure that improved control measures are in place to prevent the abuse of our programmes and projects which are aimed at benefiting our communities”.

It declined to comment on whether it was assisting commercial crime investigations into other related cases where farms bought by the state had ended up in the wrong hands.

In the Masoka case, the rightful beneficiaries, the Shabalala family, expected grants and assistance in line with the government’s objective to support emerging farmers. Obviously, this never happened.

Responding to a query on what support the department has provided to the Shabalala family, Page said: “I don’t have any information on our support to the family at this stage.”