Initiative in Dire straits
LAND REFORM: COMMITTEE RIFE WITH INCOMPETENCE, NEPOTISM, GRAFT
Financial turnaround of nearly R1.4 million in six years, according to records.
What could have been a beacon of the land reform programme has been a disaster for the beneficiaries of the Keobusitswe Communal Property Association (KCPA) in the North West village of Mokgola.
An employee Daniel Dire, 43, has not been paid for more than eight months due to infighting.
Before Thaba Tshimo game farm was sold to the government by Piet Fett, Dire had worked for Fett for more than nine years. Realising Dire came with huge experience, KCPA decided to absorb him – without a formal contract.
Dire said: “I have been unable to look after my two kids and wife for more than eight months now, and that makes me weak. I have always provided for my kids but now I am failing...
“My daughter is in grade 12. She asked me to buy her a school blazer but ... I am not going to afford it.”
He puts food on the table doing odd jobs for a neighbouring farmer, who may give him a chicken.
“I just hope the management is able to address their infighting so projects may start,” Dire added.
When the game farm was still owned and run by Fett, tourists used to come from as far as Europe and North America, and they would tip the staff with dollars. Now, the farm is totally overgrown, even the roads and parking areas.
KCPA’s interim chair Herman Kutswa, 60, confirmed Dire had not been paid for more than seven months.
“We have always told him that as soon as we have resolved our problems, then we are going to formally absorb him. There may be gaming soon, where we might be able to make some money, and we will pay him as soon as we have the money,” said Kutswa.
An interim committee took over at the end of last year, after the management committee’s five-year term had expired. Committee members claim they are still in charge. A third group claims to be an ad hoc committee, although they do not have access to the properties.
Only one group has access to the farms but does not have the title deeds, as the previous committee is alleged to have not handed them over.
The divisions in the organisation have largely been caused by allegations of graft, incompetence and nepotism.
Unlike Dire, other employees who were hired or absorbed by KCPA abandoned their duties as a result of not being paid. They, too, were never given formal employment contracts.
KCPA is allegedly non-compliant. It is believed that since 2016 it has not held an annual general meeting, submitted financial reports, nor does it hold regular meetings with beneficiaries, who number more than 2 500.
In its annual report, the CPA said: “Factors contributing to low levels of compliance in the North West province entail mismanagement of CPA bank accounts and embezzlement of funds without impunity. Therefore, power struggles arise because everyone wants to be on the committee for personal financial benefit.”
According to documentary evidence, the KCPA had R1.4 million in 2016, when the new committee led by Kabelo Moremedi took over. Six years later, the organisation has less than R10 000 in its bank accounts, it allegedly owes Eskom about R122 000 for one of the farms, and there is a legal debt they have to settle.