The Pretoria High Court on Thursday stood down the case to challenge the appointment of the Keobusitswe Communal Property Association’s (KCPA) interim committee in Mokgola village outside Zeerust in the North West.
Former KCPA committee members filed the case, arguing that the court erred when it named 10 community members in Mokgola as the KPCA’s interim committee pending the election and appointment of a new committee on October 7, 2021.
KCPA was formed in 2015 after the North West department of agriculture, land reform, and rural development restored more than 3 000 hectares of land to beneficiaries.
The land, mostly used as game farms, was part of a land reform programme.
The old committee’s term lapsed in December 2020.
In October 2021, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the present interim committee has complete authority to act in the best interests of the KCPA.
Court ruling
The court further directed the director-general of the department of rural development and land reform to assist with electing a new committee within 90 days of the order’s date.
The minister of rural development and land reform was directed to summon the members of the former KCPA and submit all documents, including bank statements.
The dispute arose when former KCPA members claimed that the interim committee was not following the KCPA’s constitution.
They say they had to withhold the KPCA records until a recognised committee was formed.
The situation has been seen as an obstacle that might leave more than 500 families in Mokgola watching as their farms fall into ruins and total collapse.
Some farms are leased to farmers outside the KCPA, while others are managed by the beneficiaries.
The interim committee claims that the old committee members have harassed them ever since their appointment.
They say the previous committee leased 800 hectares of their land to a farmer, Letlhogile Moseki, who does not allegedly pay rent to KCPA.
When contacted for comment, Moseki said he was not ready to field media interviews.
The interim committee’s deputy secretary, Lucas Kgosi, said all they wanted was to protect the community’s assets.
“We hope things will become better now. Let there be proper communication between us, the government, and the former [KCPA] committee,” he said.
Former KCPA chairperson, Kabelo Moremedi, said they will hand over documents if proper procedures are followed.
“Some people in the village don’t like this interim committee; they even complained to the public protector,” he said.
“We have filed a complaint against the Department of Land Reform to intervene in the situation and make sure that the dispute over the administration of the KCPA is resolved.”
Decision not to investigate
In a letter dated July 29, the head of reviews and investigations at the public protector’s office, advocate Mlandeli Nkosi, said the public protector regional office has decided not to initiate an investigation into the matter as they do not have the authority to investigate court decisions.
He, however, said the public protector’s office made a mistake by failing to address the complaints highlighted against the land reform department.
“They ought to have considered the allegations that were raised against the department.
“Section 11([] of the Communal Property Association Act mandates the director-general of the department to conduct an inquiry into the dispute and/or complaint that was raised with the department.
“It is our considered view that there may have been certain deficiencies in the manner in which the complaint was handled by the North West provincial office.
“Accordingly, the complaint against the department warrants further attention. Your internal review application is thus upheld in line with Rule 45[4][c],” the letter read.
Land reform director Richard Keothaile said the KCPA’s infightings were destroying the farms that the government has bought for this community.
Not willing to follow procedures
“They [the interim committee] became the interim through the back door; they just went to the court in Pretoria for that matter, and all of a sudden there was a court order making them the interim committee,” said Keothaile.
He said the interim committee was supposed to regularise the CPA within three months of the outgoing ones.
“They enjoyed being in office; they frustrate officials; they are not willing to follow the right processes so that the committee could meet.
“This is a community that is so confused where beneficiaries themselves want power at all costs,” he said.
Keothaile said the department will be forced to appoint an administrator to manage CPA’s affairs.
“The old committee does not want to leave; the interim committee went through the back door.
“They are both wrong; we just need an administrator there because, on their own, they are to blame. Instead of protecting the assets of the community, they are destroying them; those people are running the farm down.”
He said the department will need the court to approve its proposal of appointing an administrator for the Keobusitswe CPA.
