"The Housing Department says I am illegal. How can I be illegal in my own country?"
These were the words of an irate pig farmer Craig Jonkers after the department threatened to evict all 300 farmers it said illegally occupy city council land in Eerste Rivier.
Jonkers, 49, has been farming pigs and chickens on the land for 10 years.
"We are indigenous people of South Africa. They are doing the same thing that was done during apartheid years," fumed Jonkers. He said the first man to farm on the land had arrived 25 years ago.
Housing department spokesperson Zalisile Mbali said on Tuesday the farmers illegally occupied the land. Mbali said the land was about 70 hectares and the department planned to use 10 hectares of it for a flood relief project. "The land is earmarked for human settlement as it is located within the urban edge of the City of Cape Town," he said. However, it was zoned as agricultural land, Mbali said.
He added: "The department does not have an evacuation plan for the farmers."
He said discussions were held with the Agriculture Department to accommodate the farmers but without agreement being reached.
In the meantime, the farmers have vowed not take the department's threats lying down.
On Tuesday they told the Cape Times they would round up their pigs and goats and march with them to the Housing Department offices today.
In an earlier statement, Ithemba Farmers Association said the government had not properly consulted the farmers and had not complied with basic requirements to set up a township on the land.
Mbali said eviction notices had been served and advertised in newspapers.
The farmers accused the government of using apartheid land policies to force them out.
"The land is currently zoned as agricultural land which is a precious commodity in the Western Cape, but the city has failed to appreciate its value and has even refused to follow the proper procedures to rezone the land for housing," the statement read.
They argued the land was not suitable for housing.
Jonkers said 85 percent of the farmers had no other jobs and the farms were their livelihoods.
Xakekile Mzola, 53, said he has been living off his chickens and geese since he was retrenched. "If they force me out I will be like someone who has lost his job. What will happen to the person I employ as my assistant, how will he feed his family?"
His neighbours Jan and Marina Witbooi said they used their farm to help feed sick squatters nearby. They sold vegetables to a créche in an adjacent township at cheap prices.
"I'm heartbroken. This is an investment for my children," said a 33-year-old pig farmer.
These were the words of an irate pig farmer Craig Jonkers after the department threatened to evict all 300 farmers it said illegally occupy city council land in Eerste Rivier.
Jonkers, 49, has been farming pigs and chickens on the land for 10 years.
"We are indigenous people of South Africa. They are doing the same thing that was done during apartheid years," fumed Jonkers. He said the first man to farm on the land had arrived 25 years ago.
Housing department spokesperson Zalisile Mbali said on Tuesday the farmers illegally occupied the land. Mbali said the land was about 70 hectares and the department planned to use 10 hectares of it for a flood relief project. "The land is earmarked for human settlement as it is located within the urban edge of the City of Cape Town," he said. However, it was zoned as agricultural land, Mbali said.
He added: "The department does not have an evacuation plan for the farmers."
He said discussions were held with the Agriculture Department to accommodate the farmers but without agreement being reached.
In the meantime, the farmers have vowed not take the department's threats lying down.
On Tuesday they told the Cape Times they would round up their pigs and goats and march with them to the Housing Department offices today.
In an earlier statement, Ithemba Farmers Association said the government had not properly consulted the farmers and had not complied with basic requirements to set up a township on the land.
Mbali said eviction notices had been served and advertised in newspapers.
The farmers accused the government of using apartheid land policies to force them out.
"The land is currently zoned as agricultural land which is a precious commodity in the Western Cape, but the city has failed to appreciate its value and has even refused to follow the proper procedures to rezone the land for housing," the statement read.
They argued the land was not suitable for housing.
Jonkers said 85 percent of the farmers had no other jobs and the farms were their livelihoods.
Xakekile Mzola, 53, said he has been living off his chickens and geese since he was retrenched. "If they force me out I will be like someone who has lost his job. What will happen to the person I employ as my assistant, how will he feed his family?"
His neighbours Jan and Marina Witbooi said they used their farm to help feed sick squatters nearby. They sold vegetables to a créche in an adjacent township at cheap prices.
"I'm heartbroken. This is an investment for my children," said a 33-year-old pig farmer.
- Cape Times
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