Clan collapses farms
THE Limpopo department of agriculture has vowed to take drastic action against the Mamphoku-Makgoba Community Trust after a forensic report showed that it was responsible "for the deterioration of 42 farms and assets worth more than R121-million".
Books showed only R80 - eighty rand - net profit from a R121-million asset base
The forensic audit report shows that the trust illegally changed the provisions of the original trust deed, thereby giving unprecedented powers to only four trustees to formulate and implement decisions which have now left the 42 farms in a state of disrepair.
Department spokesman Kenny Mathivha said MEC Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba had been instructed by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to rectify the situation.
The report, compiled by the SAB&T, Indyebo and PricewaterhouseCoopers consortium, revealed that trustees had removed assets from the farms, let out some of the land and houses for free and entered into contracts involving the payment of huge commissions to agents.
The trust also failed to prepare annual financial statements from 2004 to 2009.
The annual financial statements prepared for the year ending February 2010 by an unregistered audit firm showed only R80 net profit from a R121-million asset base.
But the trust's chairman, Thupane Makgoba, blamed the government for the collapse of the farms, which include a tea estate at the picturesque Magoebaskloof Valley.
He said the government was reluctant to assist and had also encouraged the changing of provisions in the original trust deed. The trustees did not get the chance to give their version before the report was made public.
noto
@keafixa -u r racist and white people can stop being surrogates to our landThe goverment should take seps to make sure claimed land is productive.Running a farm needs passion driven by commision at the end.Just take a p!g farmer,when he leaves his farm and go to town he smells like a p!g but actually money.
Many people who claim land dont have expectees of running a arm.Some farmers beneficiaries will be
advised about the carrying capacity of a grazing farm,they will ignore this and overstock the farm resulting in overgrasing with grass no more growing.
Some farmers even sell claimed land again.My suggestion to goverment is that,in case of less production being predicted in a community,the same farmer can lease after the actual claim and mentor few people who will nafter the lease uterloise the land not the whole community.
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Dzel
This is what happens when you have expropriation without comprehension. Productive land has been turned into a wasteland probably due to a lack of support from government institutions like the Land bank. Now we are told more productive farms need to be expropriated, beside political millage who really benefits when productive land falls into a state of disrepair.R 80 profit from an asset base of R 121 million? You’ve gotta be kidding me, this is our mini-Zimbabwe right in Malema’s backyard.
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P4T
how could have the department not have had oversight of the project in the first place beats common sense. You can't as government spend so much money on buying the land and giving start up capital to the trust but not have any oversight on progress. Constant monitoring and evaluation is warranted by government (by competent officials of course) so that when such problems of these nature arise then amelioration of cropping problems can be sorted out in time.Report Abuse
somaartakeit
Another zimbabwe in the making, hehehehe soon SAns will also be cuing up for food aid from the UN, how is it that everything the anc touches turns to a pile of shyte!!! jeer these ppl have a talent to destroy things, they are like rats infesting themselves in a home.Report Abuse
Revulshionary
How is it happening that 42 FARMS go down the drain, and then only do you find it out.Our wonderful SA Government...
Ideal start for the Government and then prove to us that Nationalization works....
But succes for them is to make R80 profit from a R121 million tax base... Currently their profits are Billions in the read... So any PROFIT would be a miracle...
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doom555
Please man most of those people worked on farms for most of their lives given the farm to run it they fail i wonder whyReport Abuse