The EFF in Limpopo is agitating for the immediate expropriation of certain farms in the province, which have recently hogged the limelight for alleged criminal activities.
The red berets said in a media statement there were unoccupied farms in the province, which have become breeding grounds for illegal activities.
The EFF made reference to farms in the Sekhukhune and Waterberg regions, which were alleged to be drug laboratories and used as military training camps.
The party’s provincial spokesperson, Jacob Lebogo, said Limpopo farms were notorious for numerous illegal activities.
“The EFF calls on government to immediately expropriate without compensation unoccupied farms and farms which are used for criminal activities. We, therefore, call on government to establish a multi-disciplinary order restoration team comprising the security cluster to visit all the farms and verify illegal activities are not taking place,” said Lebogo.
He said such a team had to employ sophisticated technology, including drones, to perform 24-hour unannounced aerial surveillance.
“The EFF also calls on government to without delay expropriate without compensation any farm that is not in use and any farm that is found to be used for criminal activities.
“Such expropriated farms must never be given to the ANC factions or privileged individuals who benefited from the system,” Lebogo said.
Meanwhile, AfriForum in the province said as a party the EFF itself was being used for illegal activities, citing the VBS saga, from which the red berets allegedly unduly benefited.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the EFF had no moral standing to make any call against any other illegal activities.
Kriel said: “Regarding the drug manufacturing, AfriForum calls for the harshest possible actions against those thugs that are involved.
“This is not a land issue, it is an issue of criminals that need to be brought to book. Just as those criminals in the EFF have to be brought to book.”
The EFF’s concerns came after the Polokwane-based Hawks pounced on an alleged firearm training facility at Modimolle, where they seized several licensed firearms.
Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Lethunya Muroa said they received a tip-off about the facility and set up a multidisciplinary task team to investigate.
During the operation the team seized licensed rifles, pistols and ammunition but no arrests were made.
The Hawks said the purpose of the training was not yet clear but they cannot rule out the possibility of the farm being used as a military training base.
Muroa said they would now investigate as to how the firearms landed on the farm.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said the discovery of a facility possibly carrying out military-related firearm training on the Modimolle farm raised “serious concerns”.
“While the exact purpose of the training at this facility remains under investigation, the discovery of military–related training equipment and activities raises serious concerns that cannot be ignored,” said Mchunu.
The Hawks raid in Modimolle follows the busting of a massive drug laboratory near the farming town of Groblersdal in the Sekhukhune district, where drugs valued at about R2–billion were found.
Four suspects, including the farm owner and two Mexican nationals, were arrested in an intelligence-driven operation.
Land ownership is guaranteed in the constitution. Individuals can be charged for criminal activity. The land remains the property of the individual and the individuals heirs and successors.
What the eff is proposing is nothing short of theft and theft will put you on the wrong side of the law.