Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Roy Jankielsohn, MPL and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL as well as images here, here, here, here, and here
The DA’s recent oversight visit to the R11,6 million Kroonstad Farmer Producer Support Unit (FPSU), funded by the National Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), exposes why land reform in the Free State continues to fail and why beneficiaries of land reform remain poor.
The High-Level Panel that assessed key post-1994 legislation, chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, found that land reform in South Africa has failed due to, among other factors, corruption and patronage, a lack of political will and policy direction, and ineffective post-settlement support. Since the release of this report in 2017, land reform has continued to languish, and commercial farmers continue to carry the political burden through negative political rhetoric.
Between 2020 and 2025, a total of R57 137 876,00 has been spent on the FPSUs and Agri-Parks in the Free State. The DRDLR has indicated through replies via the provincial MEC for Agriculture that the Kroonstad FPSU was partially operational in 2024, with a notable achievement of the construction of a security gate and guard house.
The oversight visit exposed that the guard house has been vandalised, electricity connections and cables stolen, and a shell of decaying infrastructure. No equipment or tractors were on site, and we were informed that an official of the department was keeping them on his private property.
While property owners in the Free State, especially farmers, continue to try and do business with a sword of expropriation over them, the government continues to squander taxpayers’ money on a failed land reform model. This model, which includes vandalised and plundered FPSUs and Agri-Parks, drains funds at the cost of food production and food security.
Funds earmarked for farmer support across national and provincial government departments should now focus on assisting all farmers who are suffering huge losses and business closures due to the spread of foot and mouth state-controlled disease. The livestock industry in the Free State, which is under threat of collapse,is crucial for the provincial economy and employment.
The DA will continue to carry out oversight and expose ANC-initiated land reform in the Free State as more wasted opportunities and money. The DA-run government has had huge successes with land reform in the Western Cape, using agricultural models that put farmers and land reform recipients first.