The director general of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mike Mlengana, said at a meeting on farm attacks and stockpiling in Pretoria the “assurance” that no productive land would be taken but there were inequalities to be addressed, like the fact that many people stay in squatter camps while there are farmers who own 30 000 hectares of land.
Mlengana, who calls himself a farmer, says as long as he is the department’s DG, he will protect every farmer, whether he is white or black.
Although the summit focused on rural safety, labor matters were also dragged in, and submissions were made about the state of affairs regarding farm workers’ living and working conditions.
To the surprise of the attendees, no accusations have been made to farmers, that they either treat their workers badly or “unlawfully” or force them from the farms. A single voice about that, came from a representative of the Western Cape Foundation for Gender Equality, claiming that the fact that “the people do not have land” could be a underlying reason for farm murders and stock theft.
Mr. Willie Clack of the Stock Theft Forum pointed out that 87% of stock theft in the country is the work of syndicates, while only 13% of stock theft is for individual use.
The police presented their national rural security strategy and farmers could provide input on how it could be adjusted and improved. However, it was clear that the police are strongly criticized because they are unreliable and often corrupt and therefore not trusted.
Even the Human Rights Commission in their submission tackled the SAPS on the grounds that they are not doing their job.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
