Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Mr Gugile Nkwinti has warned that tough action will be taken against individuals and officials involved in corrupt activities related to state land. The minister was speaking after receiving state farms that had been recovered by the Assets forfeiture Unit following investigations led by the Special Investigative Unit.
The minister commended the team of investigators for their dedication in what he described as a difficult investigation. "We have learnt valuable lessons, we have streamlined processes where we needed to and the gaps that had been identified in the system are beginning to be closed", the minister added.
"We want to give notice to people involved in illegal and improper activities, that we will punish you, we will not tolerate action that denies our people their right to a better quality of life," the minister warned.
A total of 15 farms valued at R142 447 392.00 (over R142 million) were transferred to the Department out of a total of 29, the rest are still being finalized by the investigations team and the Assets Forfeiture Unit.
Forfeiture orders with a total value of R373 912 541.00 (more than 370 million) were obtained during the period of the investigation to date.
Twelve (12) cases have been referred for criminal investigations and prosecution. While the state properties are located in different provinces, the majority are in the KZN province.
The suspects include officials of the Department, the sellers of the farms and the transferring attorneys among others. More than 20 individual officials of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform were recommended for internal disciplinary processes by the SIU since 2011.
The investigations into fraud, corruption and maladministration is the result of a Presidential Proclamation issued in 2011. The proclamation was issued after the NPA had received numerous complaints relating to circumstances under which certain farms were acquired and transferred to persons and entities. The allegations included the following:
· Farms were fraudulently sold and transferred to individuals and trusts for the benefit of individuals who were not eligible to benefit.
· Beneficiaries were excluded from beneficiary lists of farms and their names substituted with fictitious persons and or relatives of officials of the Department in some instances
· Department officials colluded with farm owners and/or sellers in the sale of the farms to the Department at excessively high prices. In addition to this in some instances despite the fact that the farms were acquired by the Department the sellers remains the de facto owners
· And that some of the farms had been stripped of valuable assets by individuals including the sellers, fraudulent beneficiaries and in some instances officials of the Department.
Handing over the list of farms to the minister, the National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shaun Abrahams said the investigation had been complex but that he was pleased that significant progress had been made in finalizing the relevant aspects.
He confirmed that the NPA together with its partners have identified several other farms and cases which require similar investigations with a view to recovering the losses incurred by the Department and prosecuting those involved.
Minister Nkwinti said among the interventions that had already borne fruit was the establishment of the Office of the Valuer General a year ago, a move that had already saved the state a total of R15 million. This has been achieved through the avoidance of overpricing of land that had occurred in certain instances through collusion with Departmental officials.
