Court orders Land Affairs to return farm

Today the NorthGauteng High Court ordered the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) to return thefarm previously allocated to and occupied by Ms. Veronica Moos. Ms VeronicaMoos was allocated the farm under PLAS (Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy) in2007. The strategy was implemented by the DLA and aimed to redistribute landfor agricultural purposes and assist emerging farmers.

Despite MsMoos's utmost efforts towards making the farm productive, the lack of supportfrom the DLA, which under the strategy it was obliged to provide, the sustainedproductivity of the farm has been difficult to achieve.

In early April2009 Lawyers for Human Rights was shocked by the threats and apparent "use itor lose it" land distribution policy introduced by Ms Lulu Xingwana, the thenMinister of Land Affairs. It was under this "policy" that Ms Veronica Moos sawher occupation of her farm personally violated by the Minister, who used thefailings her own department to give adequate support to the beneficiaries ofland distribution, as an election ploy.

Ms Moos was senta letter from DLA demanding that she leave the farm "at her earliestconvenience".  The apparentreason was that DLA was not satisfied that she was using the farm according tothe policy, a policy they have thus far refused to share with her. Thesituation further degenerated when the Minister herself arrived at the farm,together with a large group of people and informed Ms Veronica Moos, withoutany prior warming, that she must vacate the farm.

The Judge foundtoday that Ms. Veronica Moos had been forcibly removed from her occupation ofthe farm and expressed his concern at the "high-handed" and "sinister" mannerin which the previous Minister had handled the situation. Finding that theactions of Ms Lulu Xingwana were unlawful, he ordered that Ms. Veronica Moos'spossession of the farm be reinstated and questioned how the DLA had thought itappropriate to take the law into their own hands.

The actions ofthe Minister are extremely distressing as at the core of SA's land reform andredistribution is human dignity, with a view of righting the wrongs of thepast.  Ms Moos remembers as a childwhen the police came and destroyed her home in District 6 in Cape Town.  She cannot help but relive those eventson her own farm 15 years after the first democratic elections. It was anemotional moment for Ms. Veronica Moos, who while relieved that she can nowreturn to the farm and continue with her farming activities, remains uncertainof what the future may bring.

Ms. Louise duPlessis of Lawyers for Human Rights stated that the DLA, together with the newMinister would need to be engaged as to the future of the policy. Shehighlighted the necessity for support and the provision of tools and resourcesneed by emerging farmers in order to make their farms productive. It is not theactions of a responsible Department of Land Affairs land to make land availableto emerging farmers, fail to provide them with adequate support and thenthreaten their removal from the farms if the DLA is not satisfied with theproduction on the farm.

For more information please contact Louise du Plessis at louise [at] lhr [dot] org [dot] za or 0823460744 or Jacob van Garderen at jacob [at] lhr [dot] org [dot] za or 0828203960