Analysts at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) believe that a list said to contain the names of farms that are to be targeted for land expropriation without compensation is “legitimate”. 

“While we note the statement by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform that ‘there is no truth to this document, the IRR, whose analysts have had sight of the list, has every reason to believe it is legitimate,” campaign manager Terence Corrigan said on Tuesday.

Corrigan said government had decided to start farm seizures before public comment and parliamentary processes were concluded. 

READ: There is no list of farms targeted for expropriation – Land reform minister

“This is at odds – as the IRR has long warned – with assurances made by ruling party and government leaders that only unproductive land will be seized.

“The IRR has long cautioned that undermining property rights will have catastrophic economic and social ramifications,” Corrigan said. 

On Friday last week, lobby group AfriForum posted on its website that it had “obtained a list of farms identified” for expropriation. 

List disputed by government

It claimed it was being circulated within the rural development department.

AfriForum encouraged farmers to check if their farms were on the list and to contact the organisation so that they could “prepare for a joint legal strategy”.

However, the department has disputed that a such a list exists.

Earlier this month, City Press reported that the ANC had identified 139 farms to be expropriated without compensation in the coming weeks, to test section 25 of the Constitution.

The list, shared by AfriForum, contained the names of 195 farms.

AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets said the list came from a “confidential source”.

Farmers ‘worried’ exposure

Agri SA president Dan Kriek said AfriForum’s publishing of this list was “grossly irresponsible” as it had itself acknowledged that its legitimacy was in doubt.

“They themselves don’t know if it’s valid or not,” Kriek said.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Kriek said that two farmers whose farms were on the list had contacted him.

“By the way, some of those farmers were extremely agitated that they have now been exposed,” Kriek said. 

He said the farmers were “extremely worried about the name of their farm [appearing] on a list”. 

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A KwaZulu-Natal woman accused of murdering her 7-year-old son is expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Megan Prins, 34, was arrested after allegedly admitting to killing her son after booking into an Umhlanga guest house.

She allegedly smothered him to death after giving him medication meant for adults and then attempted suicide by slitting her wrists. Prins indicated through her lawyer that she intends to plead guilty.

READ: ‘I am so alone’ – Durban mom after appearing in court for son’s murder

At her last court appearance on July 13, the court decided that Prins would have to remain behind bars until a bed became available at public mental facility, Fort Napier.

The prosecutor had previously told the court that Prins had been examined by the district surgeon who recommended that she be assessed by medical professionals.

“Ideally, we would want this to happen as soon as possible but because of a long queue, you will have to wait for availability of a bed,” Magistrate Mahomed Motala said.

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The spirit of Nelson Mandela has inspired ten-year-old Retshegofaditswe Hatang to soar to new heights – to the very top of Mount Kilimanjaro to be exact.

“He started his summit on August 5 marking the day of Madiba’s capture back in 1962 and summitted on August 9 celebrating Women’s Day and MaSisulu’s centenary,” his father – and the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Sello Hatang – told New24 on Saturday.

Retshegofaditswe, or Tshego for short, explained that he was inspired to complete the incredible feat to raise funds for caring4girls programme which provides sanitary equipment for schoolgirls.

“My mom told me they miss school because of sanitary pads,” explained the budding social activist – adding that he hoped girls would now get the right assistance to be able to complete their education.

 He said that the highlight of the hike was “seeing the snow!”

Although very cold and tired, reaching the summit, was quite simply “great” he added.

Tshego said that his message to other young people was to “dream big and not give up on their dreams”.

His father had been his biggest help on the expedition – and his message to his dad was: “Thank you and I love you.”

Hatang explained that Tshego had been hiking for about three years, exploring Drakensberg, Suikerbos, Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens and others. 

Hatang Junior and Senior were part of a team which was led by Sibusiso Vilane and included Samsung CEO Sung Yoon and Richard Mabaso, founder of the Imbumba Foundation which is involved in the provision of sanitary pads for schoolgirls. 

Hatang said he had learnt a lot from his son’s journey on the mountain:

“I learned that we must always encourage our children to achieve their hopes and dreams. We must not allow our spirit of giving up to influence them. During the summit, I tried three times to get him to quit as he was too cold.”

“I’m glad I listened to wise counsel from Sibusiso Vilane, Richard Mabaso and the guides. Particularly the three guides who carried him for part of the way when his feet couldn’t carry him anymore.”

“They proved that at our lowest moments, we need others to carry us on their shoulders,” mused Hatang.

Oudtshoorn Municipality declared a local state of disaster due to a water crisis in the town.

The declaration comes as the municipality had realised that water inflow into the Raubenheimer Dam was less than outflow, Mayor Colan Sylvester explained to News24 on Friday.

“With the summer slowly approaching, Oudtshoorn Municipality has also realised that water consumption will increase and inflow into the dam is less than the outflow…,” he said.

He said dam levels were at 30.7%.

The Raubenheimer Dam reportedly has only enough water for the next 160 days before it reaches the surface water in the dam, which is unusable.

Sylvester added that the South African Weather Service also predicted that there would be abnormally high temperatures and less rain over the next six months.

“We will be having water restrictions soon and also go out on a communications strategy to take the community with, by keeping them abreast of the crisis. We will also focus on water-saving measures and encourage residents to use grey water to water their gardens,” he said.  

Sylvester said the municipality was appealing to residents to use water sparingly and to immediately report any leakages.

“We also urge residents to rather take showers [instead of] using bath tubs, and [to] try to keep their water usage to 75 litres per person per day,” Sylvester said.

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Three Woodstock families are battling in court to be allowed to stay in a house where some of them have lived for more than 30 years.

Shariff Alexander, his girlfriend Nicole Puterson, and their one-year-old live in one room at 23 Gympie Street, Woodstock. They share the three-roomed property with eight other people, including children. Alexander moved in with his grandmother, who is the primary tenant, in 1980.

“My family has lived here for over 30 years. This is why I’m trying my best to fight for this place,” he said.

Alexander told GroundUp that residents’ troubles started a few months ago when the property was sold after the death of the owner. He said that since January, the occupants had been harassed by police. A resident, who lived in the lounge, had been forced off the premises when the new owner began renovating the space.

On Monday, Pilland Property Investments – the estate agents handling the sale of the house – brought an application in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court to evict the three families. The families, represented by Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre attorney Jonathan Cogger, are opposing the application.

The residents say in documents before the court that Alexander received a letter from the estate agents telling him to vacate the property by January 10. He said the letter was dated December 20, but he only received it on January 8.

Building unsafe and dangerous

On February 6, he was served with a notice of the eviction application. Two days later, representatives of the agents came to the property to tell the residents to leave, and on February 9, the agents, accompanied by a team of police officers, raided the property. The residents were asked if they paid rent. They were told to leave the property immediately, the residents said in an affidavit.

The same day, construction workers began renovating the inside of the property, without the occupants’ consent. The back door and some windows were removed, and plaster was stripped from most of the walls. An interior partition erected by the occupants was dismantled, and belongings of former occupants were thrown away, according to residents.

The Gympie Street house is being stripped while three families are living there. (Barbara Maregele/GroundUp)

The families then sought help from housing activists, who referred them to Cogger.

When Cogger visited the property on February 17, a representative from the construction company told him the building was unsafe and dangerous. Puterson and her baby were inside at the time. Renovations inside the property were stopped later that afternoon.

According to the occupants’ affidavit, most of them make a living as informal traders or do piece work in the Woodstock area. None of the residents earn more than R1 500 a month.

“The occupiers submit that the ejectment from the property, without the provision of suitable well-located alternative accommodation by the City of Cape Town, would render us homeless and/or become a considerable burden to our families,” they said in their statement.

‘The place has also been vandalised’

When GroundUp visited the house, some items of clothing, a bath and rubble were scattered on the front stoep and on the adjacent plot. The front windows were taped up with cardboard and plastic. Inside, most of the wooden flooring in the lounge area had been removed. There was a large hole in the roof and most of the walls had been stripped.

Alexander said electricity and water had been switched off three weeks ago, without notice.

“Since the construction people were here, the place has also been vandalised.” Thieves had removed the wiring and cables in the roof, he said.

The case was postponed to September 4 for argument.

Attorney Anthea Pienaar-Julius, who represents the agents, is expected to argue that the property is no longer habitable.

Cogger, who is opposing the eviction application, is expected to argue that it is not “just and equitable to grant the eviction because the occupants have already been deprived of peaceful and undisturbed possession of the property”.