Plight Of Farmworkers Is Ongoing

THE plight of farmworkers, often illustrated in reports of eviction as a result of change of ownership or resettlement, appears to be ongoing.

The media have in the past covered various cases about these workers being dumped on roadsides with their belongings and left to fend for themselves. Some time back agreement was reached on a minimum wage for these often-exploited workers, both past and present, and this was a step forward.But they still have little security of tenure, especially when it comes to change of ownership, with new proprietors not prepared to take responsibility for those they find on farms, often along with their families.Otjiku farm, which changed hands between the previous white farm owner and the new black owner, is a case in point.The new owner, according to media reports at the time, said he did not need the workers he found on the farm and brought in his own.The workers in point, who were regarded as superfluous, were then dropped on the roadside and camped there for months as they had nowhere else to go.Of course we are not trying to dictate to farm owners who and how many hands to employ on their property.But it is important that we look at the workers’ plight and try to find solutions to what is an ongoing problem.It is important that we be empathetic to those workers, who often know of no other life and work apart from the farm or agricultural set-up, where they have sometimes been born, and lived for years, decades even, only to face eviction when the property changes hands.The trade unions representing farmworkers had a lot to say about the dumping of the Otjiku farm workers, which was the right thing to do at the time.But now, another such expulsion is in the offing at a farm recently expropriated by the Government.According to a news report this week, another group of farmworkers is to again swell the ranks of the countless homeless and poor of the country with the takeover by Government for resettlement purposes of a commercial farm in the Otjiwarongo district.Ironically, the two farms in question, Marburg and Okorusu, were expropriated for the resettlement of disadvantaged Namibians.It is important that the Government, or more specifically, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement, formulate a definite policy on how to deal with farmworkers found on expropriated land in particular.It is both unacceptable and contradictory that some are evicted while others are resettled on the farms in question.Since these are farms for resettlement, an accommodation needs to be found to make a place for those who not only have lived on that same land for many years, but have also worked it, often for commercial purposes, and know the land better than others who are being resettled there.Perhaps they should even be given preference in such cases.According to the workers of Marburg and Okorusu, they have been told to get off the land, in this case by workers purportedly representing the new owners – if this is the case, it is a sad indictment of a policy that is supposed to benefit the disadvantaged people, rather than add to the unemployment problem by evicting them in the first place.Often it is those who are being resettled, who, once again ironically, would actually be able to afford to purchase land through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme of Agribank.It is unacceptable that the poor must make way for those who can afford to buy private land.Again, when it happens that poor workers are chased off Government land, Government in turn cannot expect or prescribe to private land owners not to do things differently.It is important for the unions, and others working with resettlement issues, to investigate and research the number of cases where such evictions have occurred, and to come up with solutions that can benefit primarily the poor and disadvantaged, and in particular, the workers who have been on those properties for years.Some time back agreement was reached on a minimum wage for these often-exploited workers, both past and present, and this was a step forward.But they still have little security of tenure, especially when it comes to change of ownership, with new proprietors not prepared to take responsibility for those they find on farms, often along with their families.Otjiku farm, which changed hands between the previous white farm owner and the new black owner, is a case in point.The new owner, according to media reports at the time, said he did not need the workers he found on the farm and brought in his own.The workers in point, who were regarded as superfluous, were then dropped on the roadside and camped there for months as they had nowhere else to go.Of course we are not trying to dictate to farm owners who and how many hands to employ on their property.But it is important that we look at the workers’ plight and try to find solutions to what is an ongoing problem.It is important that we be empathetic to those workers, who often know of no other life and work apart from the farm or agricultural set-up, where they have sometimes been born, and lived for years, decades even, only to face eviction when the property changes hands.The trade unions representing farmworkers had a lot to say about the dumping of the Otjiku farm workers, which was the right thing to do at the time.But now, another such expulsion is in the offing at a farm recently expropriated by the Government.According to a news report this week, another group of farmworkers is to again swell the ranks of the countless homeless and poor of the country with the takeover by Government for resettlement purposes of a commercial farm in the Otjiwarongo district.Ironically, the two farms in question, Marburg and Okorusu, were expropriated for the resettlement of disadvantaged Namibians.It is important that the Government, or more specifically, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement, formulate a definite policy on how to deal with farmworkers found on expropriated land in particular.It is both unacceptable and contradictory that some are evicted while others are resettled on the farms in question.Since these are farms for resettlement, an accommodation needs to be found to make a place for those who not only have lived on that same land for many years, but have also worked it, often for commercial purposes, and know the land better than others who are being resettled there.Perhaps they should even be given preference in such cases.According to the workers of Marburg and Okorusu, they have been told to get off the land, in this case by workers purportedly representing the new owners – if this is the case, it is a sad indictment of a policy that is supposed to benefit the disadvantaged people, rather than add to the unemployment problem by evicting them in the first place.Often it is those who are being resettled, who, once again ironically, would actually be able to afford to purchase land through the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme of Agribank.It is unacceptable that the poor must make way for those who can afford to buy private land.Again, when it happens that poor workers are chased off Government land, Government in turn cannot expect or prescribe to private land owners not to do things differently.It is important for the unions, and others working with resettlement issues, to investigate and research the number of cases where such evictions have occurred, and to come up with solutions that can benefit primarily the poor and disadvantaged, and in particular, the workers who have been on those properties for years.