Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Lizelle Stoltz
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has escalated the severe decline of the Khutso Naketsi farm in Skeerpoort, North West, to the North West Provincial Legislature for attention and further action.
This 1,923-hectare farm, once a showcase of commercial agricultural success under the management of Henning Pretorius, is now in a state of severe deterioration – at the expense of the farmworkers, the local community, and the promise of land reform in South Africa.
In 2019, the farm was sold to the state for R460 million with the aim of economically empowering 325 beneficiary families, stimulating job creation, and promoting food security in the region.
That vision has, however, collapsed. Farming operations have ground to a halt, salaries are not being paid, and infrastructure is decaying. Fertile lands are overgrown with weeds; pivots lie unused and deteriorating; and expensive agricultural equipment is rusting away – all clear signs of state failure.
The Khutso Naketsi Communal Property Association (KNCPA), to whom the management of the farm was entrusted, has failed in its mandate. The Department itself has also neglected to provide post-settlement funding or adequate monitoring and support. The consequences are clear: impoverished beneficiaries, rising unemployment, and a community abandoned.
This case is not just a failure of land reform – it is a stark warning of what happens when political promises are not backed by competent implementation and transparency.
The DA will continue to fight on every platform for fair land reform, economic empowerment of communities, and the protection of food security in South Africa.