Justice finally served as Government withdraws appeal in verdict compelling State to sell land to Limpopo farmer

7 October 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza’s announcement today that her department will not appeal a verdict which compels the State to sell Nooitgedacht farm in Limpopo, to Mr. David Rakgase.

Mr. Rakgase has been leasing Nooitgedacht farm for nearly three decades and has been struggling to purchase the farm from Government for the past 16 years. In 2002, Mr. Rakgase was offered the option of buying the farm as a beneficiary of the now discontinued Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) programme and subsequently took the Department to court after it emerged that it would not honour his expectation to purchase the land.

Last month, the North Gauteng High Court vindicated Mr. Rakgase and other emerging black farmers in a landmark ruling in which it found that the State breached its constitutional duties in its handling of Mr. Rakgase’s attempts to buy the farm he had successfully been farming for nearly 30 years.

The DA has long held the view that the ANC government does not truly support black South Africans’ right to own the land. In fact, they seek to be the sole custodians of the land by keeping emerging black farmers in their control as lifelong tenant farmers.

Justice has finally been served in the Rakgase matter and the DA trusts that Mr. Rakgase will continue to work his land successfully so that he can leave a proud legacy for his future generations.

The DA calls on more farmers to come forward and contact the Party to help them become landowners.

Issued by Annette Steyn, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, 7 October 2019