Note to Editors: Click here for a video, by Dr Roy Jankielsohn MPL, DA Leader of the Official Opposition in the Free State Legislature.
A guardhouse, gate and fence at the Diyatalawa Agri-Village between Harrismith and Kestell are sad illustrations of corruption in the Free State.
A Free State company, Rekgonne Development Projects, has recently found itself in court alongside a number of officials from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) on charges of corruption in excess of R245 million.
This company was involved as an implementing agent in various agricultural projects across the Free State over a number of years. It was also responsible for building a marketing structure (sign board), boom gate, guard house and devil fork fence at the Diyatalawa Agri-Village for an amount of R600,000.00.
During a recent inspection, the DA was able to confirm how implementing agents appointed by the Free State DARD have been milking provincial government funds through inflated prices for irrelevant and meaningless goods and services. The construction of a guard house and gate in the middle of the farm serves no apparent purpose and, like much of the infrastructure of this nature, has been subjected to serious vandalism leaving it unusable and derelict.
Such meaningless infrastructure serves no purpose and in no way benefits the beneficiaries of projects or the people of the Free State.
The Free State DARD has been using implementing agents to develop costly infrastructure under the pretext of agricultural development projects with lists of beneficiaries to justify this expenditure. The DA has been unable to find a single project in which this expense on infrastructure has been used to establish sustainable and independent long term incomes and livelihoods for beneficiaries. In many instances, such as Diyatalawa, the infrastructure serves no purpose except to enrich implementing agents and their cronies in government.
The DA will monitor the criminal proceedings to ensure that justice prevails for the people of the Free State whose livelihoods are stolen through frivolous and callous abuse of funds that are meant to improve their prospects for a better future.