Friday, June 16, 2006

Farm workers evicted for tourists

The controversial eviction of 300 workers’ families from estates in the Jonkershoek valley near Stellenbosch — including Christo Wiese’s wine estate, Lourensford — has been temporarily halted following a trade union protest campaign.

Farmers are planning to convert workers’ tied housing into tourist and student accommodation to generate extra income.

Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool last week called farm evictions the new “silent epidemic” in the Western Cape. “It has pushed the housing backlog to the rural towns,” he said. - M&G

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