Issued by: The Ministry for Agriculture
Under Section 2(1)(c) of the Provision of Certain Land for Settlement Act of 1993, Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs Derek Hanekom designated the Remainder of Subdivision 2 of Meyer No 1908 in the Estcourt District in KwaZulu-Natal for the purposes of settlement. A trust formed by the beneficiary group will hold the land on behalf of 18 families. The background is as follows:
The past few years have seen a number of evictions taking place in the Estcourt district. These evictions led to a solidarity strike by labour tenants in the area which lasted for some two months.
Eights families residing on a farm named Misgunst in the Estcourt district received eviction notices in January 1995 from the farm owner. Most of the families were born on the farm and have a long history of working on the farm. Some worked on a six month contractual basis. These families opposed the eviction and opted to buy a portion of the farm through the Land Reform Pilot Programme.
THe portion the families wished to buy is approximately 151 ha in extent. It is the area they have always resided on and where they have kept their cattle. It was recognised by the beneficiaries that as the portion is not large, they would need to restrict the number of households who settle there. An agreement was reached with the farm owner that they would limit the number of beneficiaries to eight families only.
Price negotiations were held with the farm owner in March 1996 and agreement was reached between the owner and the beneficiaries. With the assistance of the Pilot District Office and the Association for Rural Advancement preliminary planning workshops were held with the group and a broad vision for development established. An application for funding was then brought to the KwaZulu-Natal Land Reform Steering Committee in March 1996.
The Ministry wishes to congratulate the beneficiary group on the organised way in which they have entered and participated in the process of acquiring security of tenure. We recognise the patience and restraint required in this struggle to obtain land. Through positive attitudes and hard work this project has been made possible. In particular we thank the Association for Rural Advancement for assisting in facilitating the process. We welcome these eight families to the fold of South African land owners.
28 AUGUST 1996