The National State of Disaster has finally come to an end (par the 30 day adjustment period) which was good news for many, but not all, with farm workers and many who previously qualified for the R350 social grant set to face dire implications.
Our Cape Winelands farm workers are worried about their livelihood and claim that an increase in evictions from the farms they’ve called home is on the cards for them.
Women on Farms or the Women on Farms Project (WFP) work with women in the commercial agriculture sector predominantly in the Western Cape.
According to the group in sharing its memorandum with Cape {town} Etc, “as the country celebrates another Freedom Day, farm workers and dwellers have very little to celebrate. Twenty-eight years into our freedom, they remain landless and face eviction from the commercial farms where they have worked and lived for generations.”
This concern stems from anticipated spikes in eviction cases, many of which are already on the court rolls that when processed, will leave thousands of farm workers and their families evicted.
Yesterday, hundreds of women farm workers as well as those who stay on farms marched to the Paarl Magistrate’s Court where the eviction orders are granted “even when there is no dignified alternative accommodation,” WFP adds.
WATCH: Women farm workers not going down without a fight
They also marched to SAPS, which they claim “refuses to open cases against farmers guilty of constructive and illegal evictions.”
As per WFP’s memorandum, they have urged for the magistrates and the police to meet as overseen by the Human Rights Commission, as well as for President Ramaphosa to issue a suspension of the evictions until adequate housing can be provided, otherwise being homeless, or living in overcrowded informal settlements could be the case.
It also demands that Drakenstein Municipality provides “detailed plans, timeframes and budget allocations for integrated housing developments for evicted farm worker communities” given its reputation as the “evictions hotspot”.
Illegal evictions have reportedly become a problem that sees little prosecution, according to some WFP members. The WFP notes that “despite this temporary moratorium, farmers have continued to either threaten farm workers with eviction or to attempt constructive eviction by, for example, disconnecting their water supply and electricity.”
“Despite various engagements with Drakenstein Municipality, little has been done to secure decent housing for evicted farm dwellers. There is no political will to budget for decent housing and service delivery in farming areas,” it contends.
Meanwhile, the adjusted requirements for the R350 social relief grant serves as another setback of the end of the National State of Disaster.
Recently, the government has gazetted changes in who can qualify for the grant, making the amount accessible only to applicants who are poorer than the previous requirements.
“That is shocking, inhumane, regressive, and leaves millions of people living below the food poverty line ineligible for government assistance,” said a statement issued by the Black Sash organisation.
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Picture: Screenshot from video/ WFP
