Boerdery in gedrang na uitspraak oor mynbou sonder skadevergoeding
Farming in jeopardy after ruling on mining without compensation
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Na die onlangse uitspraak in die Mpumalanga Hooggeregshof waar mynbou bedrywighede voorrang geniet sonder om die boerdery op die landbougrond enigsins in ag te neem, het Saai en AfriForum in ʼn gesamentlike mediavrystestelling hulle skok uitgespreek dat daar geen vergoedings ooreenkoms hiervoor bereik is nie.
AfriForum en die netwerk vir familieboere, Saai, het reageer nadat ’n kommersiële boerdery die organisasies om hulp genader het nadat die hof beslis het dat mynboubedrywighede op ’n boer van Delmas se grond mag voortgaan sonder dat ’n vergoedingsooreenkoms bereik is.
AfriForum waarsku dat hierdie uitspraak verreikende gevolge vir landbou in Suid-Afrika gaan inhou en is in die proses om regsopinie in te win.
Die burgerregteorganisasie meen dat die Departement van Minerale en Petroleumbronne hierdie gevaarlike praktyk moet stopsit voordat dit kan posvat. Dit is juis die departement se verantwoordelikheid om toe te sien dat die land se mineralebronne op ’n volhoubare en regverdige manier ontwikkel word.
Volgens die mediavrystelling is slegs 1,5% van grond in Suid-Afrika geskik vir landbou waarvan 46% hiervan is in Mpumalanga is. Myn- en prospekteringsregte is egter reeds toegeken op meer as 60% van Mpumalanga se oppervlak.
Voorts is daar gevalle waar aansoeke vir mynlisensies ingedien word vir regte om op grond so na as 500 m van ’n dorp te myn, wat beteken dat gemeenskappe ’n myn byna op hul voorstoep kan hê.
Hierdie oormatige mynbouaktiwiteite bring nie net voedselsekerheid in gedrang nie, maar het ook verreikende ekologiese gevolge.
CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery (Edms) Bpk is sedert 2019 in onderhandelings met Stuart Coal (Edms) Bpk, wat oor die regte om steenkool op landbougrond in die Delmas-gebied te myn beskik, is in ʼn stryd gewikkel om ’n vergoedingsooreenkoms te bereik om te vergoed vir moontlike verliese wat die boerdery weens die mynboubedrywighede kan ly.
Die partye kon egter nie daarin slaag om ’n ooreenkoms te bereik nie en CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery het die mynmaatskappy gevolglik toegang tot die eiendom geweier.
Intussen is die geskil, ingevolge artikel 54 van die Wet op die Ontwikkeling van Minerale en Petroleum Hulpbronne 28 van 2002, vir beslegting verwys na die streekbestuurder van die Departement van Minerale en Petroleumbronne in Mpumalanga. Nadat hierdie proses ook ’n dooiepunt bereik het, het die myn die hof genader om die grondeienaar te beveel om toegang tot die eiendom toe te staan sodat mynboubedrywighede kon begin.
Die Mpumalanga Hooggeregshof het in Julie vanjaar die interdik toegestaan en, ondanks die feit dat daar steeds geen ooreenkoms ten opsigte van skadevergoeding bereik is nie, mag die myn nou die eiendom betree en met mynboubedrywighede voortgaan.
Die mediavrystelling lui voorts dat, “Hierdie uitspraak skep ’n uiters gevaarlike presedent, omdat dit daarop dui dat die grondeienaar van sy bestaan ontneem kan word met geen waarborg dat regverdige kompensasie deur die mynmaatskappy betaal sal word nie. Omdat landbougrond vir alle praktiese doeleindes deur mynboubedrywighede onvrugbaar gelaat word, sal ’n saaiboerdery nooit weer bedryf kan word nadat ’n oopgroefsteenkoolmyn gevestig is nie.”
Die CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery is ’n vierdegeslag-familieboerdery wat nou in alle waarskynlikheid nie vir die vyfde geslag sal voortduur nie. Die boerdery se inkomste is reeds ’n knou toegedien omdat ooreenkomste vir die uitverhuring van landerye nie hernu kon word nie weens die onsekerheid oor wanneer die mynboubedrywighede gaan begin.
Volgens Saai sal die organisasie nie toelaat dat hul lede se eiendomsregte blootgestel word aan sulke onregverdige praktyke nie, en hulle staan saam met AfriForum om hierdie kwessie tot die hoogste vlakke te voer.
Dit is van kritieke belang dat daar dringende wysigings aan hierdie wetgewing aangebring word om verdere verwoesting te voorkom en om te verseker dat regverdige en billike vergoeding ’n prioriteit bly,” sê Francois Rossouw, uitvoerende hoof van Saai.
Farming in jeopardy after ruling on mining without compensation
The shocking recent ruling in the Mpumalanga High Court which determined that mining operations on a farmer’s land in Delmas may continue even though a compensation agreement was never reached will have far-reaching consequences for agriculture.
This comes as a warning from AfriForum and the network for family farmers, Saai, after a commercial farm approached the organisations for help. AfriForum is in the process of obtaining a legal opinion on what the wider implications of this ruling will be for agriculture in South Africa.
The civil rights organisation believes that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources must stop this dangerous practice before it can take hold. According to Marais de Vaal, advisor for Environmental Affairs at AfriForum, it is precisely this department’s responsibility to ensure that the country’s mineral resources are developed in a sustainable and fair way.
However, it appears that this department does not act as an impartial regulator in these situations and unfairly favours the interests of mining companies.
Only 1.5% of land in South Africa suitable for agriculture and 46% of this suitable land is in Mpumalanga.
However, mining and prospecting rights have already been granted on more than 60% of Mpumalanga’s surface. Furthermore, there are cases where applications for mining licenses are submitted for rights to mine on land as close as 500 m from a town, which means that communities can have a mine almost on their doorstep.
These excessive mining activities not only jeopardises food security, but also has far-reaching ecological consequences.
CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery (Pty) Ltd have been in negotiations with Stuart Coal (Pty) Ltd since 2019, struggling to reach a compensation agreement to compensate for possible losses that the farm may suffer due to the mining operations.
Stuart Coal has the rights to mine coal on agricultural land in the Delmas area. However, the parties were unable to reach an agreement and CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery consequently refused the mining company access to the property.
Meanwhile, in terms of Section 54 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002, the dispute has been referred to the regional manager of the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources in Mpumalanga for resolution.
After this process also reached an impasse, the mine approached the court to order the landowner to grant access to the property so that mining operations could begin.
The Mpumalanga High Court granted the interdict in July this year and, despite the fact that no agreement has yet been reached regarding compensation, the mine may now enter the property and continue with mining operations.
The mining operations are expected to start before the end of the year. Although the court believes that compensation must still take place pending valuations, this means that the value of the land due to mining operations will be less than it was before the mining operations started.
“This ruling creates an extremely dangerous precedent, because it suggests that the landowner can be deprived of his livelihood with no guarantee that fair compensation will be paid by the mining company. Because agricultural land is for all practical purposes sterilised by mining operations, a crop farm will never be able to operate again after an open-pit coal mine is established,” says De Vaal.
“A farmer can not just pack up and move his farm either. Therefore, the landowner’s only bargaining power is to deny the mine access to the property until an agreement on compensation is reached, but according to the court this interest seems to weigh less than the short-term profits that come with a mine’s destruction.”
The CJ Williams and Seuns Boerdery is a fourth-generation family farm that will now in all probability not continue for the fifth generation.
The farm’s income has already been dealt a blow because agreements for renting out fields could not be renewed due to the uncertainty about when the mining operations will start.
“This ruling is a direct attack on the property rights of landowners across the country.
If landowners cannot even protect their properties from external forces that ignore their rights, the fundamental principles of property rights and fair treatment are seriously undermined.
Saai will not allow our members’ property rights to be exposed to such unfair practices, and we stand with AfriForum to take this issue to the highest levels.
It is of critical importance that urgent amendments are made to this legislation to prevent further devastation and to ensure that fair and equitable compensation remains a priority,” says Francois Rossouw, CEO of Saai.