What was supposed to be a smooth land reform programme has ended up being a nightmare for Mpumalanga-based grain farmer Paul Grey of Grey en Grey Landgoed farm outside Ermelo.
Grey was forced out of his farm last month following a ten-year-long disputed agreement between himself and the department of land reform and rural development.
Agreement gone wrong
Following a dramatic scene of events, Grey said he has been handed an eviction notice from the department of land reform, and the case will be heard at the Ermelo Magistrate Court on the 19th of September.
“It is a commercial eviction of private property, and I don’t see how this will help because they first need to sort out the cancellation of the sales agreement. They just want me off the farm,” he said.
After being allegedly chased off his farm, he was forced to go in hiding for four days and when he came back, he found the different houses on the farm ransacked with damaged property and a few goods missing.
“This whole incident has been exhausting and I am tired of everything at this moment,” he said.
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The initial proposal
In 2013, Grey and officials from the department started engaging on how the two parties could work on a land reform programme. That was the beginning of a long stressful and life-threatening experience Grey had to go through.
According to Grey, the departmental officials approached him with a plan of buying the land so that beneficiaries could get land, meaning he had to sell the land to the state as part of the land reform by the government.
Grey said he initially agreed to a proposal that the government buy his land, and then lease it to him for 30 years and then extend it for another 20 years. He sold portions of his land and the government hired people who started a company in which he owned 45% of the shares.
“We then signed the sale agreement and I had to agree because my grandchildren need to grow up here. In the end, we had to get the lease and according to the policy, we were told that we would get the lease agreement after three months.”
Department yet to sign agreement
“They gave us a five-year lease and they said it’s because they were preparing a lease agreement for 30 years and this one was so that the process continues. We signed the five-year lease contract, the beneficiary company signed it, and we sent it to the department of land reform, but up until today, the agreed lease has not been signed by the department,” he explained.
Grey said he could not access any financial support because he had no proof that he owned the land which has impacted his operations and resulted in some of his bank accounts being shut.
According to Grey, he had tried reaching out to the Public Protector’s office for a recourse but he has been sent from pillar to post with no valid reasons.
A harrowing experience
On the 9th of August, Grey went to town and received a call from the police telling him that he was needed on the farm.
Upon his arrival, he alleges that there were 50 cars, and guns pointed at him, including R4 pistols, AK47s, shotguns and 9mm pistols.
“They dragged me around pointing their guns at me. Some were standing on the roofs of the buildings, others were hidden in the trees and all I could see were their guns sticking out.
“I took my stuff, got into my van, and went straight to the police station. They damaged the property. It has been a very stressful situation. I am afraid that my life is in danger, but I am not afraid to die for the truth. This whole thing has really made things difficult for my father and my family,” he said.
Grey said since the incident happened and having returned home he tried reaching out to the department of land reform and rural development to get answers on why he was forced out of his property while his understanding was that there were issues that remained unresolved.
Disappointed farmers
Executive manager of Mpumalanga Agriculture Robert Davel said that the government missed a golden opportunity to showcase how a land reform project can bear fruit.
“The department of land affairs, with defective implementation of policy, clumsy administration, and alleged irregularities by officials, has ruined a golden opportunity for a successful and sustainable partnership.
“Despite the state’s apparent commitment to orderly land reform at the national level, this incident confirms apparent lack of commitment by grassroots officials to orderly and sustainable land reform,” he said.
Davel said it is difficult for Mpumalanga Agriculture to now encourage their members to enter into any land reform initiative with the government.
Zero trust in the department
“Unfortunately, this incident and the clumsy way in which the department fulfilled their responsibility, contributes little to the establishment of a relationship of trust between commercial producers and the authorities.
“Without an official rental agreement, or proof of ownership, access to financing was impossible for farmer Grey, the department of land affairs apparently failed to fulfil conditions in the initial purchase contract and as a result, ownership of the property in question was re-established with the original owner earlier this year,” explained Davel.
He said the messy situation was a threat to job security and growth of agriculture, and investment and called on their members to consider using the Partners in Agri Land Solutions (Pals) initiative should they consider entering into any land reform and transformation projects.
Efforts to get a response from the Mpumalanga department of land reform and rural development have been fruitless for the past two weeks.
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