R462m ‘megafarm’ land reform project in disarray after North West department fails to release funding

Bank statements and financial reports obtained by amaBhungane suggest that the four former committee members tapped into the CPA’s resources in problematic ways that went beyond their purview, a view bolstered by allegations of their poor performance.

Farmers in legal battle over land

Johannes Bezuidenhout, Herold Bezuidenhout and Jan Bergh are sheep farmers operating under their Nuveld Farming Empowerment Enterprise. Their business was thriving and viewed as a good example of what previously disadvantaged community members could do if given opportunities.

The Helen Suzman Foundation Requests to Make Submissions in Land Distribution Matter

The Helen Suzman Foundation (“HSF”) has asked to be admitted as a friend of the court in a matter that seeks to address decades-long policy confusion at the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (“Department”) regarding how land is redistributed in South Africa. The matter is led by the Legal Resources Centre (“LRC”) and concerns three black farmers, Johannes Bezuidenhout, Herold Bezuidenhout and Jan Bergh, who the Department has denied a 30-year lease on land that they ...

SA’s agri sector could create a million more jobs

SOUTH Africa’s agricultural sector has more than doubled in value and volume since 1994, thanks to improved productivity. Yet the sector, which employs about 1,4 million people, could create another million jobs if the government started transferring land it is currently holding to deserving farmers. This is the view of Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of […]

Eastern Cape family waits for promised right to farm land where their ancestors worked

Department of Rural Development and Land Reform silent on why it’s taken years to issue a lease promised in 2019

Parents, children, and friends granted bail after allegedly defrauding the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform

The group allegedly defrauded the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform of more than R6 million through its land grant programme.

South Africa’s elite handsomely benefit from land reform too

Every thinking South African knows we have to tackle the ticking time bomb of land reform. Zimbabwe’s chaotic mismanagement of the economy offers lessons we have to learn if the next round of South Africa’s journey is to avoid disaster.

Funding landscape for land reform in SA is complex, says Vumelana

Sona did not provide details on land reform challenges – Vumelana Advisory Fund

It hopes that the impending Budget speech would provide some pointers on the government’s plans with supporting land reform.

75% of land reform farms have failed – Noko Masipa

397/529 PLAS farms are either operating at subsistence level or are not productive at all