DA MEC must come clean and denounce exploits
Where is the DA's Western Cape agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg when there is a serious crisis with on-going problems experienced by thousands of farm labourers in the Hex River Valley?
This is the real question asked by the ANC as the protesting is growing and valuable time and money is lost due to the regular closing of the N1 road as a result of unsolved grievances, says Western Cape ANC leader Marius Fransman (see report).
The past two days saw the closing of the N1 by thousands of labourers who are fed-up demanding better payment, conditions and treatment by farmers.
Van Rensburg is seen to side and meet with the farmers, not the disgruntled farmworkers and call in helicopter reinforcement to fight unarmed labourers!
"It is shocking that one of the most affluent and financially viable produce areas in our country are paying farmworkers a pittance, that people face evictions regularly and that youngsters have to work the vineyards of a thriving export table grape sector. Workers seem not to share in the profits there for decades now and the situation became untenable.
"The ANC calls on all workers to not indulge in illegal actions, but to express them in a democratic manner. The ANC also asks for all culprits who indulged in excesses to be brought to book - including farmers using extreme violence against protesters.
"On the other hand no exploitation of workers can be tolerated anywhere. Some time ago the ANC again raised the importance of farmers and organized agriculture to stop discriminating against these workers. In this area farm workers still feel the brunt of apartheid abuse on farms.
"Eviction and retrenchments is rife; there is little or no respect for the sectorial determination of farm workers with minimum wages, illegal evictions still occur, assaults on farm workers continue (as was seen on television today) and they are intimidated when they want to join unions!
"This is happening and reported regularly in various popular and scientific papers. With numerous demonstrations the DA agriculture MEC is still in denial and implies that farms workers must be happy because they get more in this province. He even brags about his competitions to keep farmworkers just that: labourers on farms!
"It is completely unacceptable that these things go on unchecked. MEC Van Rensburg must come out and denounce these actions. The ANC calls on all to help to fight this abuse of the most vulnerable!" says Fransman.
The ANC is also suspicious of the clear collusion between the DA provincial government and organised agriculture in the Western Cape.
Statement issued by Marius Fransman, Deputy Minister International Relations and Cooperation and ANC Western Cape Chairperson, November 6 2012
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