Limpopo farm expropriated

[NoADSLyet]

http://www.24.com/news/?p=tsa&i=818207

And so it Begins! Zim 2.0 in the making? Of course Zuma will accelerate this expropriations and probably extend it to private property too!

Limpopo farm expropriated2008-1-20 23:03Polokwane - Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana has given the go-ahead for a Limpopo farm to be expropriated after it was liquidated and the liquidators refused to bring down the price.
Liquidators Sechaba Trust wanted to sell Callais 226KT in Hoedspruit for R19m, whereas government was only willing to pay R13m.

Dries Joubert, chair of the northern branch of the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU-SA North) said the farmer who previously owned the farm had been willing to sell the farm as far back as 1998 for R12m, but that the provincial land claims commission had delayed negotiations until 2005.

Joubert said the land claim against Callais 226KT was only formally gazetted in 2000 and the land claims commission only made an offer to buy it five years later, in 2005.

Debts piled up

"During all those years, the debts were piling up against the farm, until it was liquidated in 2006," he said.

Agriculture and Land Affairs spokesperson Pulane Molefe confirmed that the Department served the expropriation order because Sechaba Trust would not bring down its price.

"We took possession of the farm on January 11, and we will later transfer it over to the Letebele Mpuru and Maraba Communities, who were dispossessed of their rights to the land in 1965," said Molefe.

In terms of the Restitution of the Land Rights Act, the Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister has the authority to expropriate land for restitution purposes if they are convinced that the process is being delayed without good reason.

"We have already deposited more than R10m into Sechaba Trust's bank account, which amounts to 80% of the total amount to be paid by the state for the property.

The outstanding amount will be paid in due course," Molefe said.

The CEO of Sechaba Trust was not available for comment on Friday and his personal assistant, who would only identify herself as Renata, was only prepared to take a message for when he returned to work this week.

She confirmed, however, that Sechaba Trust had refused to bring down their price, saying independent valuators had said the land was worth R19m.

 

[Skeptik]

the farmer who previously owned the farm had been willing to sell the farm as far back as 1998 for R12m, but that the provincial land claims commission had delayed negotiations until 2005.

Joubert said the land claim against Callais 226KT was only formally gazetted in 2000 and the land claims commission only made an offer to buy it five years later, in 2005.

Classic delaying tactic, hoping that the farmer will go bankrupt and accept a smaller amount.

I've said this all along, exproriations are preferred, not necessary.

independent valuators had said the land was worth R19m.

But then what do the experts know eh?

 

[antowan]

Red tape snagged another unwitting victim.

So the reason these folks are bankrupt is because government didn't want to buy when they offered and rather opted to go the long route and later expropriated the land for a million more than the owners wanted about 10 years back? That sucks!!!!

 

[sand_man]

"We took possession of the farm on January 11, and we will later transfer it over to the Letebele Mpuru and Maraba Communities, who were dispossessed of their rights to the land in 1965," said Molefe.

...

 

[sand_man]

So the reason these folks are bankrupt is because government didn't want to buy when they offered

or because the farm was mis-managed...

 

[Nod]

or because the farm was mis-managed...

Will you invest in your farm, if their is a land claim on it? Will the bank give you money for improvements, major maintenance, etc?

I don't think so. The farmer did the best he could with the resources he had. There is now mention of how long the farmers had the land before 1998, so saying it is mismanaged is a bit premature.

 

[sand_man]

If the farmer believed his farm was worth R12m in 98 and subsequently was liquidated in 2006 due to rising debts how did the liquidators establish a market value of R19m if the farm hadn't been improved and maintained?

 

[Nod]

If the farmer believed his farm was worth R12m in 98 and subsequently was liquidated in 2006 due to rising debts how did the liquidators establish a market value of R19m if the farm hadn't been improved and maintained?

You did notice that property values went up the past 4/5 years, right? I would guestimate an increase of at least 30% the past 4 years.

My comment was just a possibility that the farmer might not have received any new funding since at least 2000, because of the land claim. We are speculating on a subject that has nothing to do with the farmer. The farm was in the hands of liquidators by the time it got taken.

 

[sand_man]

You did notice that property values went up the past 4/5 years, right?

http://www.rode.co.za/news/article.php?ID=2112

Yeah perhaps up to 100% thanks to governments voluntary land restitution request...

 

[Sneeky]

Property value has increased much more than 30% in 5 years but regardless, the government always knows better, look at electricity.

Why did they only pay him R10m, I smell another rat. Wonder how many years he will have to wait for the balance.

 

[xrapidx]

The government are common thieves, I thought we all knew that already?

What they can't have, they'll steal.

 

[Skeptik]

If the farmer believed his farm was worth R12m in 98 and subsequently was liquidated in 2006 due to rising debts how did the liquidators establish a market value of R19m if the farm hadn't been improved and maintained?

You're missing the point. All the farmer wants to do is farm. If they gave him the money when this claim was forst posted, he could buy another with the money - the whole point of the process. However, the offer has not increased in line with the market, therefore he will only be able to afford a smaller farm - or maybe one in a different area.

And the government wonders why farmers are not always willing to cooperate.

 

[sand_man]

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Some farmers in the Polokwane (Pietersburg) area and elsewhere in the Limpopo province who delayed their response to the government's request two years ago to voluntarily make land available for restitution, are finding that the delay is paying them handsome dividends.

Farmland that used to sell for R800 to R2000 per hectare, is now selling for R1500 to R3500 per hectare on average, according to sales figures provided by Eli Ströh of Eli Ströh Property Services and Auctioneers in Pietersburg, a property firm particularly active in the farm market. The figures show that two farms sold in the Baltimore district in 2004 even fetched around R7000 per hectare, which in Ströh's opinion might be indicating a possible distortion of the local farm market.

In a province noted for having processed the highest percentage of land restitution claims in the country, the dramatic increases in farm land value over the past two years of close to 100% or more, is largely linked to Government demand for land, which constitutes 30% - 40% of farm sales in the area, according to Ströh.

 

[DigitalSoldier]

"We took possession of the farm on January 11, and we will later transfer it over to the Letebele Mpuru and Maraba Communities, who were dispossessed of their rights to the land in 1965," said Molefe.

And in another year there will be nothing left on the farm then the Letebele and Maraba Communities will blame Apartheid, white people, Britain etc for not teaching them how to farm commercially.

 

[sand_man]

And in another year there will be nothing left on the farm then the Letebele and Maraba Communities will blame Apartheid, white people, Britain etc for not teaching them how to farm commercially.

seems current farmer hasn't been to flash either...

"During all those years, the debts were piling up against the farm, until it was liquidated in 2006," he said

 

[NoADSLyet]

seems current farmer hasn't been to flash either...

and you with your pro ANC and reverse racist support fail to realize that to carry on farming on a piece of land that is expropriated is not possible as all the banks would withdraw their credit. Anyway we understand the bafoon syndrome. Not to worry!

 

[xrapidx]

and you with your pro ANC and reverse racist support fail to realize that to carry on farming on a piece of land that is expropriated is not possible as all the banks would withdraw their credit. Anyway we understand the bafoon syndrome. Not to worry!

You'd swear it was difficult to comprehend... its like applying for a loan to renovate someone else's house.

 

[Sneeky]

Rofl

 

[sand_man]

to carry on farming on a piece of land that is expropriated is not possible as all the banks would withdraw their credit.

actually with a piece of land valued at R19m banks would be queuing for this farmers business...

 

[xrapidx]

actually with a piece of land valued at R19m banks would be queuing for this farmers business...

Your logic is seriously flawed. Why would they que for something they know they government is about to take away? A bank is in no way going to give someone money if they know that money is being put to something that could be taken away any second. A bank requires surety, and a land with a claim on it isn't surety.