They were structured as voluntary partnerships between landowners, workers, and the state, with government grants enabling workers to acquire equity and participate in the management and profits of agricultural enterprises.
In a formal complaint submitted to the Office of the Public Protector, the anti-corruption watchdog demanded urgent intervention, saying the situation had left thousands of farmworkers side-lined.
CW said the Public Protector needed to use its powers under Section 182 of the Constitution to conduct an investigation into the FWES and make an appropriate recommendation for remedial action.
The Public Protector has confirmed receipt of the complaint.
CW has been in communication with the then Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) since 2019 to raise its concerns, but said these efforts have led to no substantive progress.
Melusi Ncala, senior researcher and project lead at CW, said the issue of FWES did not have a fixed start and end date.
“We are aware that a complaint must ordinarily be reported to the Public Protector within two years. However, the issue of FWES does not have a fixed start and end date; rather, it is a continuing and systemic problem that remains unresolved and ongoing to this day. The affected beneficiaries, along with the organisations assisting them, have been diligently attempting to exhaust all available avenues and remedies.”
According to Ncala, FWES have failed to achieve in their objective to contribute to land reform and economically empower farmworkers. This is because of “an abuse of power”, “maladministration”, “improper dealing concerning public money”, “outstanding grant payments”, “lack of information with respect to the financial affairs such as shareholding and the dividends due, and paid out, to beneficiaries.”
In 2013, a review of 89 FWES was prepared for the DALRRD. Recommendations included creating a centralised approval function for new schemes, auditing existing ones, and establishing a governance and support unit.
It also called for a management oversight committee, coordination with local government for housing delivery, and uniform application and monitoring processes.
According to the CW, none of these key recommendations have been implemented 12 years later.
CW’s work on land reform has been informed in part by its involvement in Transparency International’s Land and Corruption in Africa project. This initiative, which covers seven other sub-Saharan African countries, is now in its second phase (2021–2025), after completing its first phase between 2015 and 2019.
FWES has been examined as a case study in governance challenges. The research shows that the design of the schemes represents an effort to democratise agriculture and address historical injustices, but persistent governance failures have caused them to fall short of their goals.
As a result, farmworkers continue to face exclusion from meaningful economic participation in the agriculture sector, CW said.
The continued failure of FWES, Corruption Watch argued, reinforces existing inequalities and undermines the goals of land reform in South Africa.
