Yesterday, the DA did an oversight at the Zebedia Citrus Estate and were appalled at the shocking and visible neglect at the facility.

Eskom has removed their transformers out of fear of vandalism and there has been no electricity available since June 2023.

There was no water on the estate and reservoirs stood empty because water cannot be pumped.

Thousands of trees were on the verge of dying, and staff have apparently not yet been paid for the month of September.

The DA  was reliably informed that the MEC for Agriculture, Thabo Mokone, has not been to the estate since February this year, despite his department having put millions into the estate in the last couple of years.

A visit to the administration block highlighted the shortage of staff and management at the facility and we were later advised that the financial management is exclusively managed by the Community Property Association and the beneficiaries of the CPA.

The Estate’s liquidation process was supposed to be finalised by May, and the Department advised that once finalised a new investor would be found for the facility.

MEC Mokone must urgently advise where monies for this estate have gone and to whom. It was certainly not put into maintenance and infrastructure on the farm, and obviously the electricity bill is not paid.

Furthermore, the seasonal workers were appointed through a contractor, instead of the estate. The MEC must advise which contractor is being used and at what cost.

If the Department continues to offer bailouts to the Zebediela Citrus, they have a vested interest and must be informed on the expenditure of the farm and exactly where funds are going.

The DA has written the MEC Mokone, with requests for answers to the questions and an explanation of where taxpayers’ monies is going to.

 

 

Issued by Lindy Wilson MPL - DA Provincial Spokesperson on Agriculture and Rural Development