It was supposed to be a good story. Instead an emerging female farmer tried to take her own life.
The Garden of Hope — a farm owned by His Grace is Sufficient‚ an organisation of Aids orphans and farm workers‚ in Limpopo — would support more than 200 Aids orphans and 40 farm workers.
About 100 cattle‚ implements and a bakkie have gone missing‚ as have the roofs of seven houses that once housed workers at the 400-hectare farm in Settlers‚ outside Bela Bela.
The farm was bought in 2008 through the Land Bank’s R100 million AgriBEE scheme‚ but it was soon caught up in an intricate web of alleged corruption.
His Grace is Sufficient received the first batch of R6.7 million — which was used to buy farm implements — from the R12 million grant‚ but the second batch allegedly vanished from Maponya’s trust account.
Grace Silaule‚ the organisation’s founder‚ tried to commit suicide on February 26 when her pleas for the department of agriculture‚ forestry and fisheries to rescue the project were apparently ignored.
She took an overdose of sinucon‚ but a friend found her just in time and rushed her to hospital.
She spoke to The Times from Tara/The H Moross Centre Hospital in Johannesburg‚ where she is currently a psychiatry in-patient‚ after spending a month at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
“I have written many letters to the department‚ pleading for help as the farm supported more than 200 Aids orphans and 40 farm workers. Everything has collapsed‚ there is no hope‚ so I decided to die‚” she said.
A lawyer close to the case said he also wrote letters to former minister of agriculture‚ forestry and fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson calling for intervention but got no reply.
“It is a complex case of corruption that has robbed the organisation not only of its survival but access to the property‚” he said.
Department of agriculture spokesman Steve Galane said she was not aware of this matter‚ but Silaule said Galane was lying‚ and claimed that she had met him twice in 2009 at the department’s offices in Pretoria.
Galane said Silaule should send the letter “to me and the matter would be brought to the attention of the minister (Senzeni Zokwana)”.
An earlier version of this story stated that Khutso Mosoma was - along with Phil Mohlahlane, Dan Mofokeng and Matuba Maponya - still on bail. This is incorrect. Charges against Mosoma were withdrawn on July 12, 2011. We apologise for the error.
AgriBEE fraud drives farmer to suicide attempt
It was supposed to be a good story. Instead an emerging female farmer tried to take her own life.
The Garden of Hope — a farm owned by His Grace is Sufficient‚ an organisation of Aids orphans and farm workers‚ in Limpopo — would support more than 200 Aids orphans and 40 farm workers.
About 100 cattle‚ implements and a bakkie have gone missing‚ as have the roofs of seven houses that once housed workers at the 400-hectare farm in Settlers‚ outside Bela Bela.
The farm was bought in 2008 through the Land Bank’s R100 million AgriBEE scheme‚ but it was soon caught up in an intricate web of alleged corruption.
His Grace is Sufficient received the first batch of R6.7 million — which was used to buy farm implements — from the R12 million grant‚ but the second batch allegedly vanished from Maponya’s trust account.
Grace Silaule‚ the organisation’s founder‚ tried to commit suicide on February 26 when her pleas for the department of agriculture‚ forestry and fisheries to rescue the project were apparently ignored.
She took an overdose of sinucon‚ but a friend found her just in time and rushed her to hospital.
She spoke to The Times from Tara/The H Moross Centre Hospital in Johannesburg‚ where she is currently a psychiatry in-patient‚ after spending a month at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
“I have written many letters to the department‚ pleading for help as the farm supported more than 200 Aids orphans and 40 farm workers. Everything has collapsed‚ there is no hope‚ so I decided to die‚” she said.
A lawyer close to the case said he also wrote letters to former minister of agriculture‚ forestry and fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson calling for intervention but got no reply.
“It is a complex case of corruption that has robbed the organisation not only of its survival but access to the property‚” he said.
Department of agriculture spokesman Steve Galane said she was not aware of this matter‚ but Silaule said Galane was lying‚ and claimed that she had met him twice in 2009 at the department’s offices in Pretoria.
Galane said Silaule should send the letter “to me and the matter would be brought to the attention of the minister (Senzeni Zokwana)”.
An earlier version of this story stated that Khutso Mosoma was - along with Phil Mohlahlane, Dan Mofokeng and Matuba Maponya - still on bail. This is incorrect. Charges against Mosoma were withdrawn on July 12, 2011. We apologise for the error.
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