Fight between black farmers and government continues unabated

Izwi Labantu Forum (ILF), an organisation that represents black farmers and vulnerable communities, has written to Deputy President Paul Mashatile raising concerns over safety of black farming communities when it comes to criminality.

On Monday, the ILF stated that it had written a letter with profound heartbreak and deep concern, raising issues that Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli had allegedly  failed black farmers regarding actions needed to be implemented following the march on January 29, where black farmers had marched to Union Buildings to hand over the memorandum to the Presidency concerning their challenges, which they claim that the government was not addressing.

The ILF letter follows another letter that the organisation had written to Mashatile on March 10,  where it had highlighted the ongoing struggle for “genuine land justice, agricultural empowerment, rural safety, and the dignity of black emerging farmers and farm workers”.

Hitting the brick wall

ILF chairperson Norma Mbatha said on March 10 that the organisation anticipated and knew from the onset that the government was going to play a gamble with farmers’ lives despite the fact that the farmers had to march to Pretoria to handover the memorandum.

“As anticipated and expected, the misleading politics we were deeply skeptical of have now fully manifested. During our national farmers’ march to the Union Buildings on 29 January 2026, we insisted that you [Mashatile] personally accept our memorandum of 14 demands, precisely to avoid the very position in which we now find ourselves, [where ILF and black farmers are] abandoned, ignored, and left chasing shadows. Instead, the memorandum was received by the Deputy Minister in the Presidency, whose eloquent words and assurances we naively hoped would translate into action. Since the follow-up meeting on 6 February 2026, we have heard not a single word from her, no updates, no progress reports, no engagements,” said Mbatha.

Farmers feel betrayed

She pointed out that the silence from Mhlauli was not mere oversight, stressing that it was a profound betrayal of the commitments made to black emerging farmers and rural communities.

“Let us remind you, Your Excellency, that this matter was formally escalated to you in your capacity as chairperson of the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on agriculture and land reform. As such, the responsibility for oversight, coordination, and resolution of these systemic failures’ rests squarely with your office.

“We have not been informed of any changes to this mandate, and we expect the Presidency to honour its role in steering the IMC towards tangible outcomes. In light of this ongoing inaction, we have formally reported the issue to the portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform and rural development to engage you directly on the commitments made during the 29 January 2026 handover. Furthermore, we must highlight the alarming lack of progress on the attached list of approximately 67 specific issues (evictions, non-delivery funds, lease disputes, and more) that we handed over on 6 February 2026. To date, only about 11 cases have been contacted, and even then, only by land reform officials, nothing from Department of Agriculture,” she said.

‘Lack of fairness’

Mbatha said the selective approach applied by the government only confirmed the concerns outlined in the farmers’ 14 demands, that officials arbitrarily choose who to assist and who to neglect, including those who are set for failure, resulting in allocated funds being returned unspent to Treasury while black farmers suffer destitution and despair.

“People are not being served fairly or equitably. Organisations like ours, committed to principled advocacy and good governance, are increasingly marginalised and unrecognised. We are forced into an impossible choice, between upholding what is right and wrong, championing transparent governance, or succumbing to servicing relationships and political expediency that prioritises the powerful over the people,” she said.

Government’s hostility

On Monday, Mbatha also reiterated that the government was still hostile towards dealing with the challenges faced by farmers in black communities.

“Only a few days ago, one female farmer to whom a five-day commitment had been made, suffered a burglary on her farm, where her daughter resides. Her nightmare of what could have happened to her daughter has left her traumatised. She has already survived several incidents, one involving gun violence. The reality of black farmers sent us to the Union Buildings on the 29 January 2026. That same reality keeps us awake at night and keeps us on our toes. We can assure you, Mr Deputy President, that the reality of a black farmer will not be swept under the carpet or missed amid the Presidency’s busiest schedules as though it were one of the less important matters,” she said.

Mhlauli denies snub

Mhlauli said: “What exactly is the story about, because we have a follow up meeting with them next week, if we are failing to respond? I will give a detailed response to your questions because this is actually in extreme bad taste. You do not engage via the media when we’ve created formal channels of communication. We will detail all that since that’s the game they want to play.”

Mbatha sticks to her guns

Mbatha retorted, “We are not going to stop engaging the media as Nonceba says. We are not dealing with this in bad faith, but we can see that Nonceba and her people are trying to manage us. She is trying everything to keep these issues away from the media, and we don’t know what is their agenda.

“If it was not because of Sunday World and Jozi FM, Nonceba would be ignoring us completely. Nonceba ignored letters sent to her and she had never responded to any. Why is she not responding to us? We are saying that the forthcoming meeting should not be another engagement; we want action. Farmers are suffering on the ground, while others sleep in the streets because they have been evicted from their farms by government officials. We will keep on updating the media of what is happening.”

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