A multi-million rand Eastern Cape dairy project in Port St Johns is gradually becoming a white elephant. The Mantusini Dairy Farm project is in a state of despair again.
Last year, the Rural Development and Agrarian Reform department introduced investors to the Dairy Farm, this after reports of massive loss of livestock at the farm due to hunger, but much to the management and workers disappointment at the project, the investor has disappeared into thin air, leaving cows to die.
Tractors are standing idle, pastures are deteriorating and cows have started dying once again. This community project was started in 2005 but gained momentum in 2011 when the department of agriculture and other partners provided the necessary support.
Over the years, the government has injected more than R40 million into the project, but still, the challenges persist.
The chairperson of Mantusini Dairy Farm Trust, Mziwonke Magoswana says cows now survive on natural grass and are dying of diseases.
“The problem that we are having here at the dairy farm is that our investor Cream Top Dairies has disappeared. We last saw them towards the end of November. So when we try to contact Nadir, who is the Director of Cream Top Dairy he asked how he could come back. So we were shocked because we did not know that he has gone. So we asked why do you ask that question and he said because he is being sabotaged, he’s being threatened at the dairy farm so he won’t come back. So the situation here now at the farm is the cows, our cattle don’t have the pastures. They rely on natural grass.”
Even workers have been going for months without salaries. One of them, Masixole Nomphandana says they haven’t been paid since last year July.
“Since last year July until December, they never paid us our salaries. Then we decided to volunteer here because they give us our UI19 to claim UIF. Then now they said we must volunteer here so that we continue to guard these cows. Now we are afraid to leave this dairy because we know that when the dairy is coming back to normal they couldn’t call us again to come and work.”
The dairy farm project was set to alleviate poverty and create job opportunities for locals. Local authorities have also expressed disappointment at the new developments. Ward councilor, Fikile Jama, says government must intervene.
“We as the community of Mantusini to have a dairy was highly appreciated. Now the situation that we are facing is very bad because this dairy is changing our lives because the milk was very cheap so everyone can afford to buy it.”
When the investor, Cream Tops, came on board last year, they revealed bigger plans for the project, promising to improve the condition of the cattle and build a processing plant.
Communities started seeing light at the end of the tunnel. But local chief Mhlabuhlangene Nomphandana says they’ve lost hope and have made a desperate call for the government to intervene.
“I am very sad. The people who were here promised us. They even said government is not needed here since they are on board. Everybody was happy when they came but it saddens me to see the farm like this. They messed everything up. The equipment we had is now broken. We don’t see anything new as they promised they will bring us new equipment. They only took what we had and broke them. I’m pleading with government to intervene again because the investor they brought has not done anything for us.”
The provincial government has promised to intervene. Spokesperson for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Masiza Mazizi has committed that they will visit the farm this week.
“The department is aware of the challenges at this farm and as such we have started an investigation. We don’t want to get into details because we don’t want to compromise the process of investigation. At the right time, we will issue a statement to the public as to what is really happening and what we are doing as the department. Furthermore, the MEC will be here on Tuesday since she has just started in the department to come and see for herself what is happening here.”
Efforts to get a comment from the director of Cream Tops, Sihle Ntuli were unsuccessful.
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