27 Jul 2014

Residents of Lorolwane in the Ngwaketse area have implored government to set aside a portion of the state owned Banyana farm to be used by the yet to be retrenched farm workers in order to cushion them against the debilitating effects of unemployment.

Residents said this during a recent kgotla meeting addressed by a task force from the Ministry of Agriculture.

They were reacting to an update by the task force, which was to the effect that the remainder of the farm that had been managed by the state would soon be leased to private operators.

A resident and farmers committee chairperson, Mr Makwa Kgakalo argued that giving the workers a chunk of land to manage on their own within the farm would enable them to sustain themselves since they had experience in farm operations.

He was saddened by the fact that most of the first batch of workers who were retrenched during the first phase of farm privatisation had since become destitute.

Another resident, Mr Tshoganetso Sekoanelo also urged government to give the workers a portion of the land plus three cattle each over and above their terminal benefits, fearing that leaving them to try the available citizen empowerment initiatives on their own would not get them far enough.

Ms Gadifele Tsiripane on the other hand advised government to give the workers a special dispensation and allocate them ploughing fields in order for them to sustain themselves through farming.

However, Mr Dodo Tsiripane complained that residents were not consulted when the farm was privatised, indicating that it was futile to do so now. He feared that privatisation would have dire consequences on the nearby communities who have always benefited from the farm. He also raised a concern that the promise to give residents the farm to run on it on their own has not yet materialised.

Meanwhile Banyana farm general manager, Mr Hudson Gabaitse explained that a paddock was set aside for former employees when the farm was sub leased to private operators in 2010 with the view to enabling them to sustain themselves.

He also revealed that two more paddocks were set aside to be used by the residents of villages that straddled the Kgalagadi and Ngwaketse districts.

He said the remaining portion that government had been running would be further sub divided and subsequently sub leased to private operators and urged capable residents to take advantage through an expression of interest when the farms are advertised.

Mr Gabaitse also revealed that all the workers would lose their jobs hence the need to integrate them back into the community.

Ngwaketse Landboard lands officer, Mr Goatwemang Shatera informed residents that all the necessary surveys have been done on the farm they were promised and that the appropriate land would be allocated to them in due course. ENDS