WC farm equity schemes under fire after worker exploitation claims

The portfolio committee on land reform and rural development has called for a forensic investigation into farm equity schemes after a three-day oversight visit in the Western Cape revealed widespread mismanagement and abject poverty among worker-shareholders.

During the mission to farms in Tulbagh, Clanwilliam, Citrusdal, and Ceres, the committee heard harrowing accounts from affected workers. Despite a R700 million state investment in the government’s Farm Worker Equity Scheme (FWES), only nine out of 88 schemes have ever declared dividends. This has left thousands of farmworkers destitute, with many facing eviction upon retirement.

The committee heard harrowing accounts of farmworkers being misled into selling their multimillion-rand shares for minimal amounts, sometimes as little as R20 000, without understanding the long-term consequences. In one case at Verlorenvlei Farm, workers were not even aware that the land had been sold to a Belgian businessman.

These exploitative practices extend beyond share sales. Many farmworkers still live in unbearable conditions, earning below the minimum wage despite their shareholder status. Worse, they lose all benefits and tenure the moment ill health forces them to stop working, often leading straight to homelessness.

The investigation follows a petition submitted to parliament late last year by a coalition of organisations, including the Surplus People Project (SPP), Corruption Watch, the Legal Resources Centre, and the Support Centre for Change. These groups argue that while the schemes were promoted as mechanisms for empowerment, they have instead left a legacy of “enduring exclusion and institutional unaccountability”.

This sense of exploitation was echoed during the committee’s briefing sessions, where the human cost of these failed partnerships was laid bare.

“These farmworkers became symbols of transformation, while others cashed in on their name. It’s a betrayal of farmworkers who feed our nation,” said Brian Adams, CEO of the SPP.

A legacy of failure

The FWES model, initiated in the mid-1990s as joint ventures between agribusinesses and workers, has been plagued by what the department describes as a “structural capability gap”. This gap in governing complex equity partnerships has historically excluded beneficiaries from meaningful decision-making power and access to information.

According to the portfolio committee, this is due to the lack of government support through monitoring and evaluation of the scheme, which contributed to the scheme being discontinued.

The department of land reform and rural development officially placed a moratorium on the model in June 2009 following numerous negative experiences. Although the government introduced the Recapitalisation and Development Programme (Recap) in 2010 and tested a 50/50 model between 2014 and 2018, the original equity schemes remained a site of real and ongoing harm for those involved.

The road to accountability

Committee chairperson Mangaqa Mncwango said they would ask representatives from the department to respond to the petition. Addressing the frustrated farmworkers directly, he said, “I assure you your frustrations are not misplaced.”

The committee is now expected to request a special investigation into the circumstances that led to workers selling their shares and to determine the current ownership of farms.

Following the shocking findings of the oversight visit, the focus now turns to the department to provide a structured set of remedial options and forensic audits to finally deliver justice to the workers.