Greed, corruption undermine land reform

INLSA

Dundee Farmers Association chairman Kenny Robinson says land reform has failed because of greed and corruption by government officials, farmers and claimants. Robinson believes the solution is putting the right people on to the land and making sure that officials are made to account. Picture: Colleen Dardagan

South Africa's failed land reform programme is a feeding frenzy of farmers, government officials and land claimants out to grab as much as they can for themselves, says the chairman of the Dundee Farmers' Association, Kenny Robinson.

And the controversial Green Paper on land reform would never have seen the light of day if farmers had united to serve the greater good and demanded corrupt land officials be swiftly called to account.

Robinson, whose farm is included in a 45 000-hectare "invalid" land claim, says there is no reason land reform should have failed other than individual greed by all involved.

"Land reform on the ground has failed because of corruption. We don't need the Green Paper, what we need is to get rid of corruption and get people to do the job properly. I really don't think minister Gugile Nkwinti - who is a good man - knows how inefficient his staff really are."

Robinson says he was also "shocked and saddened" at the attitude of organised agriculture at a recent land summit.

"The minister, in his address, extended a hand of friendship to commercial farmers - he asked them to come alongside him, to assist him. All he got was a verbal slap- down. It was an opportunity of a lifetime thrown away.

"From the beginning if organised agriculture and government had worked together, things would have been different. We are here to help."

And, he says, the political interpretation of the definition of land restitution is inaccurate.

"The so-called black spots, where people were forcibly removed from their land - these were first claimed. They were settled. Our farms never fell under that definition. My father bought this land when he returned from the Second World War. The title dates back to the 1850s."

"Land reform is when government buys farms and resettles black farmers. But that's been a failure. I feel sorry for those people because they were just put on the land without any support or training."

He says farms in the Dundee district were allegedly sold for inflated prices in cahoots with local officials. An investigation into corrupt land deals in the district has resulted in three officials being suspended.

One of the farms was invaded by squatters and the rest are largely vacant. One or two are allegedly rented by commercial farmers for "a song". "And then you wonder why we need the Green Paper. It's there to correct what should have been done from the very beginning."

He says expectations that could never be met were created by politicians promising land.

Robinson, who has farmed on his land for the past 35 years, says while farming is a great life and he would not change it for anything the realities of everyday life are harsh.

"Yes, we're being intimidated, the pressure is on all the time, but somehow we are still able to laugh. Don't ask me how. The psychological effects of the constant harassment is beginning to show. And because your land is under claim you can't sell-up and move and you can't invest in it and improve. This land situation is becoming a tragedy."