TAU SA has called for the sacking of agriculture and land affairs minister, Lulama Xingwana, on the grounds that her department is one of the most corrupt and incompetent organs of the state. According to a statement issued by the union, despite the almost total failure of the government’s land redistribution policy and warnings by the commercial agriculture sector, Xingwana, continues to give productive farms to land claimants who, in the majority of cases, allow these farms to collapse. “Instead of halting what is an abject policy failure, the minister brought in SA Farm Management as a ‘strategic partner’ to salvage the collapsed farms and bring agriculture back to productivity, but the company has now been placed in liquidation and owes more than R100 million to the banks,” TAU SA said.
Patrick Wadula, spokesperson for Absa confirmed that the bank had applied for the provisional liquidation of SA Farm Management. The reasons for the application stem from SA Management‘s failure to comply with its payment obligations towards Absa, as it had not made payments within the required 21 days when called upon to do so. The company in turn provided Absa with a letter stating that it couldn’t comply with its day-to-day commitments towards trade creditors. Absa, after an investigation into the company’s affairs, found that its liabilities exceeded its assets. In Absa’s opinion, SA Farm Management had to be liquidated to ensure that an independent third party would take control of its operations to enable the farm projects managed by the company to survive.
“This scandal follows the looting of the Land Bank by Affairs appointees under the stewardship of Xingwana who is, surprisingly, still in her post,” the union commented. It added that Xingwana continues to destroy commercial agriculture and, if unchecked, will cause South Africa great harm. “Food riots in an already unstable South Africa will not enhance the government’s chances of attracting investment to a country already saddled with one of the highest crime rates in the world, high unemployment, millions of illegal immigrants roaming the streets and a crumbling municipal infrastructure,” TAUSA said. – Peter Mashala & Rudi Massyn
