Government at an advanced stage of developing agricultural villages: Thoko Didiza

Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza says government is at an advanced stage of developing agricultural villages. Didiza says these villages are aimed at protecting farmworkers after evictions.

She was addressing farmworkers and NGO’s during a meeting at Citrusdal on the West Coast.

Didiza says they want to ensure the security of farmworkers who have complained of evictions.

“I’m happy that during the tenure of Minister Sisulu, we agreed on policy position for developing agri villages which will give security of tenure for farmworkers such that their tenure security is not dependent on where they work, they can be able to sell their labour to any farm and they can go and stay in what they call home for them and their families.”

Farmworker organisations in the Western Cape say despite interventions aimed at protecting their members against evictions, too many of these are still taking place daily.

Security and access to land for development by farmworkers are among the issues highlighted by NGO’s.

Wendy Pekeur from Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement says, “The past months, we have dealt with issues of people’s electricity being out, water, that’s a basic constitutional right.”

Pekeur says the appointment of a law firm by the department to offer legal representation to people being evicted is welcome.