Today I am appearing in the High Court for a communal property association to obtain an interdict against members who are invading CPA land.
A land claim was lodged over some 20 farms in 1998. Only one farm was restored to the CPA, it is leased to a commercial farmer.
The rental just about covers the administrative costs of the CPA so the 400 plus members derive no benefit at all. This leads to disgruntlement and incessant attacks on the CPA leadership and instability.
The latest strategy is land invasion. The farm is much closer to the city than the townships where most members live so the plan is to build an informal settlement on the farm. So far the invaders have been removed by the police, but each weekend they arrive in bigger numbers.
They are violent and threatening. They threaten to burn the farm down. There are suggestions that they are encouraged by officials in the DRDLR.
There is little prospect of further land being restored to the claimants.
The merits of the claims are doubtful and it’s high yield land planted with nuts, avocados and citrus.
The State hasn’t the money to buy more land and in any event the COA has no capacity to farm it commercially.
The best solution is likely to dismiss the land claim and slash the number of beneficiaries from 400 families to 5. Then it’s a viable land reform project. But there is no political will to do that, so we are stuck in a vicious circle of anger, frustration and violence.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.