Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism
What (a) is the number of farm labourer evictions per municipal area in the province, (b) aid or support was given by the provincial government in each case?
(a) All legal and illegal evictions are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) 62 of 1997. These provisions are the mandate of the National Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and administered by them. The constitutional dispensation does not allow provinces to legislate on land issues. Should provinces do so, it would imply that they are acting ultra vires the Constitution. A consolidated record or database of all farm labourer evictions per municipal area is not kept by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture as in most cases; we do not have access to the relevant information.
(b) The Department’s sub-programme: Farm Worker Development, the only one of its kind in the country, assists evicted farm workers through the facilitation of access to appropriate departments and municipalities through its referral system in order to link them with services and support structures during this process as and when we are made aware of such cases.
