South Africa's Agriculture Ministry has caused a flurry of disquiet among the country's farmers by threatening those who mistreat their workers with land expropriation.
"We are obviously disturbed by the persistent reports of abuses on farms," Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana told a national conference in Johannesburg, of the Food and Allied Workers Union that represents farm workers. "This is in keeping with the law of the land. For those people who are not keeping within the law, the government has the right to expropriate."
Land reform and redistribution are sensitive topics in a country where the minority white population still owns the vast majority of land - a relic of oppressive colonial and apartheid policies.
Ms. Xingwana came out in support of her Deputy Minister, Dirk du Toit, who was criticised by opposition parties for having referred in Parliament the previous day to a lingering "medieval" attitude among farmers. "My Deputy Minister knows what he is talking about," Xingwana told the conference.
In response to a question about farmers who lay off and evict workers unlawfully, Mr du Toit told MPs: "Those people who don't want to hear, we are not only going to take them to court, we are going to also take their land away from them."
This drew a sharp response from the country's largest farmers' union, Agri SA, which claims a membership of 30,000. "Since the beginning of the year not a single case of illegal farm eviction has come to Agri SA's attention," it said in a statement. "Our conclusion is therefore that the Deputy Minister also regards legal evictions as unfair."
Agri SA said it would raise its objections with President Thabo Mbeki and demand a clarification or retraction.
"Let them write a letter to the president and let's discuss the issue," the President's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance has slammed Mr du Toit's statement as racist for implying that all white farmers abuse their workers.
The South African authorities admit that threats of expropriation have had beneficial effects, with land owners being more inclined to accept the Government's price offer for their properties.
AFP
