WeeklySA_AdminREFORM: Nearly R700 million was disbursed to equity schemes. Most of them have failed…
By Liesl Human
Civil society organisations have for years been campaigning for an investigation into the millions of rands disbursed to farm worker equity schemes, many of which have failed or are untraceable.
The schemes were set up by the government in the 1990s to economically improve the lives of historically disadvantaged farm workers by providing them with shares in the farms they were working on. Now the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has written to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe the schemes.
The Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has approached the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate the failure of farm worker equity schemes (FWES).
This follows significant pressure by civil society organisations and Parliament on the department to investigate the disbursement of millions of rands to farm worker equity schemes, many of which have failed or are untraceable.
The equity schemes were established in the 1990s to economically benefit farm workers. The erstwhile Department of Land Affairs initiated the redistribution project. Farm workers signed agreements with farm owners, receiving shares and dividends for their social benefit.
The department disbursed nearly R700-million to 89 equity schemes, Parliament heard in August. Most of the equity schemes were in the Western Cape (54 schemes were paid R366-million) and Eastern Cape (21 schemes were paid R103 million). During the briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Land Reform and Rural Development, the department explained that officials had visited 65 equity schemes, of which only 18 were fully functional.
16 had limited functionality with “limited or no meaningful worker participation”, and 19 had workers who sold their shares and no longer had ownership interests. Six had collapsed, four had serious financial trouble, and two were in business rescue.
Regarding the remaining 24 equity schemes they did not visit, the department said officials could not find documentation on these schemes.
SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho confirmed to GroundUp that the SIU is in talks with the department’s acting deputy director-general Dumisani Lupungela. They are “awaiting information from the department to assess whether it is sufficient to motivate for a proclamation”.
Makgotho said once they get the information from the department, “the case will be evaluated and referred to the SIU’s [Case Assessment Committee] for consideration”.
Civil society groups like Corruption Watch and the Surplus People Project have been pushing the government to look into the maladministration and lack of oversight of the equity schemes.
In research and interviews with farm workers, Corruption Watch found serious issues with the transparency of the schemes, farm worker participation, and dividend payments.
They found that the details of each equity scheme varied between farms. Their 2023 report noted that they interviewed 35 members on eight farms. “Although the exact terms of each scheme differ, beneficiaries under the FWES are expected to receive dividends, corresponding to their share. However, several participants reported seeing few, or no benefits from the scheme,” the report read.
Poor cash flow, mounting debt
The department also faced mounting pressure from the portfolio committee to investigate the schemes.The department’s assessments of the 65 schemes found several where worker governance and benefits were limited or unclear. There were several schemes where workers sold their shares or exited ownership while remaining in employment on the farm. Others had poor cash flow and mounting debt. There were some schemes that were fully functional and where workers had been receiving dividends for years. The department recommended immediate interventions, including resuscitating oversight and approaching the SIU.
Concerns around the lack of oversight were also raised in an internal report commissioned by the department from Zalo Capital back in 2013.
The report advised the department to rehabilitate the failed schemes, to establish a support unit to monitor and support FWES, and to measure the performance of DLRRD staff supporting equity schemes, among others.
But Terries Ndove, deputy director-general of land reform, told Parliament that recommendations in the Zalo report were never implemented. He admitted that monitoring of the schemes by the department was “poor”.
The department did not respond to GroundUp’s questions. – GroundUp
MIRROR Briefs
SOUTH AFRICA TO ENGAGE THE USA OVER DISPUTES
South Africa remains open to talks with the US on areas of dispute, including rules for foreign investors on Black employment and ownership, although it was surprised by last week’s US visa restrictions, according to Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola .
The two countries were discussing ways to accommodate new US entrants into South Africa’s mining sector, among other matters, Lamola said, and were making progress when Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced curbs on visas for South Africans, citing concerns over its laws and policies. He did not specify who would be subject to the ban.
“South Africa remains open to engage with the U.S. administration on all the issues that they have put on the table,” Lamola said in an interview on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“We are predictable and reliable partners and we see the U.S. as an important strategic partner.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has criticized South Africa over a range of issues including actions aimed at addressing racial inequality, which he says hurt the African nation’s white population.
While South Africa has criticized the new visa restrictions, Lamola said Pretoria did not want a “tit-for-tat war” with Washington over the issue, given the importance of the economic relationship, but said the current US administration was unpredictable. – Fullview
POSTPONEMENT BID BY TAXI BOSS REJECTED
Mpumalanga taxi boss, Oupa Bafana Sindane is expected to appear before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Monday, September 28, after his application for a postponement was dismissed by the Commission.
Sindane wanted the commission to hold off hearing his testimony until an urgent application to block the Commission’s subpoena and the use of his cellphone data had been ventilated in the High Court in Pretoria on October 6.
He also submitted a medical certificate, claiming he was unfit to attend proceedings. Sindane’s legal team had argued that he was in “spiritual seclusion” and was also unwell, with a medical certificate citing “uncontrollable hypertension, severe sinusitis and flu”. His lawyer, Advocate Thabane Masuku SC, objected to evidence being led in Sindane’s absence, arguing that allowing him to respond only after the evidence had been presented would be unfair.
“A later objection cannot unbroadcast private communications or restore the presumption of innocence in the public’s minds and we therefore submit that the move should be avoided’’.
Commission evidence leader, Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, opposed the postponement, arguing that the inquiry’s tight schedule could not accommodate repeated delays by witnesses.
In a media circular issued on Friday, the Commission said evidence against Sindane would be heard on Monday regardless of whether he appears to testify or not. – Lehlohonolo Lehana .
UNITED NATIONS CONGRESS TO COMBAT CRIME
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has led the South African delegation to the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which started on Friday and would end on September 29, 2026.
Convened every five years, the Congress serves as a global forum for Member States and justice sector stakeholders to consider shared responses to crime, strengthen criminal justice systems and promote the rule of law.
The Congress will be held under the theme: “Accelerating crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: Protecting people and planet and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the digital age”.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development noted that the Congress is taking place at a time when countries are increasingly concerned about the impact of crime on societies, and various criminal activities becoming increasingly complex, adaptive and interlinked, and transcend borders, sectors and jurisdictions.
“The congress will provide a platform for countries to commit multidisciplinary efforts to prevent and combat crime through cooperation and coordination among law enforcement, other criminal justice institutions, and other government sectors,” the department said.
The programme includes plenary sessions, a high-level segment, thematic discussions, workshops, ancillary meetings and exhibitions. – SA news
DATE SET FOR ANC APPEAL
The Constitutional Court has set October 5 this year to hear the African National Congress (ANC) appeal seeking to overturn the Electoral Court order. The party has challenged the IEC over 181 candidates excluded from the November 4 Local Government Elections. The ANC populated candidate details into the IEC’s online system (OCNS) ahead of the August 28 deadline, but allegedly failed to complete the final “submit” click before the cutoff.
The Electoral Court ruled against the ANC, stating that data left unsubmitted on the OCNS does not amount to legal compliance under the Municipal Electoral Act.
In a judgment handed down on September 16, 2026, the court rejected ANC’s argument that its candidates should be accepted because the party had substantially completed the nomination process before the deadline.
In its application to apex court, the ANC has repeated a similar argument, saying its administrators had submitted all the necessary details on the IEC’s online portal.
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya issued a directive requiring that the respondents may file answering affidavits on or before September 28, 2026.
The dispute affects 181 ANC candidates in the six municipalities that included Port St Johns, Ngquza Hill, Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape, uMshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal and Mangaung in the Free State. – Lehlohonolo Lehana.
