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Some of the proposals of the Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment Bill, which has been published by Parliament for public comment, include that farm workers should be allowed to erect tombstones on farms and be able to count on the protection of government in the event of the death of a farm worker who is a breadwinner.
In addition, even if none of the deceased person’s family members work on the farm, they will not be automatically evicted. Government will assist them, either by finding alternative accommodation or paying the farmer rent on their behalf.
The period for public comment closes on December 18.
In March 2011, Parliament’s portfolio committee on rural development and land reform heard that “roughly 1 million farm workers and farm dwellers were evicted and displaced in the decade immediately following 1994”.
The bill also provides that in cases where farm dwellers face an unlawful eviction, government will provide legal representation to fight the eviction, and the bill provides for compulsory mediation before an eviction lands in court. Currently, the law does not provide for mediation or any dispute-resolution mechanism.
Sivuyile Mangxamba of the department of rural development and land reform said: “We realised that it was costing the department a lot of money.”
The bill is imposing an obligation on the farm owner that, before he seeks an eviction order against his employees or their families, he must prove that he attempted to mediate or negotiate a solution. Otherwise, farm owners will not be granted an eviction order.
“We are trying to streamline and simplify the evictions provisions to say it must be a lawful eviction, that there must be a court order obtained before an eviction can take place. We are trying to curb illegal evictions,” said Mangxamba.
“This is for our most vulnerable group of people – farm dwellers and farm workers – who often get evicted without people following the process. It’s aimed at strengthening their tenure rights,” he said.
Mangxamba said illegal evictions were rampant. He explained that an illegal eviction was when a lawful occupier was evicted without a court order. The proposed bill was meant for lawful occupiers.
On the issue of tombstones, Mangxamba said this was a matter that had been brought to the attention of the department by occupiers. Their gripes included being denied access to grave sites and the lack of maintenance of graves.
The bill proposes that lawful land occupiers be granted the right to erect tombstones, mark graves, place symbols on graves, perform rites and clearly identify and maintain graves.
The bill also proposes that evictions may only be carried out during reasonable weather conditions.
“The owner will have to determine reasonable weather conditions under which an eviction order may be carried out,” it reads.
The bill also suggestes the provision of a tenure grant. Where the eviction is lawful, government will provide for the occupiers to acquire suitable alternative accommodation.
The grant may also be used to compensate the farm owner or the person in charge of the land in cases where the family of a deceased farm worker continues to stay on the farm.
