Derek Hanekom said this week he was=20 piloting legislation to limit evictions of=20 rural families. But this may be too late=20 for one family, reports Rehana Rossouw=20
KATRINA WILLIAMS has lived on the farm “La=20 Verger” near Stellenbosch for 50 years,=20 working there as a domestic worker for its=20 owners for 45 years. Her loyalty and long=20 service, she says, left her with “fewer=20 rights than a dog”.
This weekend the sheriff of the court,=20 armed with an eviction notice from the Cape=20 Town Supreme Court, will remove all her=20 possessions from her tiny home and turf her=20 household of eight women into the street.
Williams raised seven children and four=20 grandchildren in her modest labourer’s=20 cottage. Five of her children have worked=20 on the farm, two of them for more than a=20 decade.
In September last year the farm’s owners,=20 Eben and Lynette Kruger, told her the farm=20 had been sold. The Williams family had seen=20 many owners come and go, and expected they=20 would continue working for a new family.
But in October, they found out the farm had=20 gone bankrupt and the trustee who arranged=20 its sale accepted the new owners’ condition=20 that the Williams family would be evicted=20 before they took transfer. The trustee=20 applied for an urgent order to evict the=20 family.
The women sought assistance from the Women=20 on Farms Project, which arranged for the=20 Legal Resources Centre to defend the matter=20 in conjunction with the Centre for Rural=20 Legal Studies.
But because there is no legislation=20 granting farmworkers security of tenure,=20 all the lawyers could do was negotiate a=20 longer notice period for the Williams and=20 they have been given until the end of=20 January to leave.
On the eve of their eviction this week Land=20 Affairs Minister Derek Hanekom announced=20 that he would introduce legislation this=20 year to limit the eviction of rural=20 families and give them security of tenure.
He said most landowners accepted it was=20 immoral to evict people who had nowhere=20 else to go. The Extension of Security=20 Tenure Bill would impose strict limits on=20 the powers of courts to grant eviction=20 orders if no other accommodation is=20 available for the tenant.
Farmworkers who have lived on land for 20=20 years and who are either 55 or older, or=20 are disabled former employees of the owner,=20 will have the right to remain on the land.
Evictions will be allowed only by court=20 order in accordance with steps outlined in=20 the Bill.
Where the conduct of the tenants is not=20 responsible for the termination of their=20 tenure rights, an eviction will not be=20 permitted until adequate alternative=20 accommodation is available.
The Williams family fit the bill perfectly,=20 but for them it might be too late. Hanekom=20 is visiting them this weekend to share a=20 cup of tea, but he might have to pitch in=20 and help them move to the nearest squatter=20 settlement.
This was not the first time La Verger has=20 been sold, but previous owners ensured=20 Williams’ employment contract, and her=20 right to remain in the labourers’ cottage=20 were transferred to the new owners.=20
Her daughters Monica and Juliana worked as=20 permanent employees on the farm which=20 produces apples, pears, grapes and roses.=20 Juliana earned R117 a week and Monica R85 a=20 week. They were last paid in October.
“I was very proud of the work I did because=20 I wanted the Krugers to be proud of me,”=20 said Juliana (37), who has reared two=20 daughters on La Verger.
“They made so many promises to us. They=20 said we could live here as long as one of=20 us worked on the farm, they even told us=20 they would build a new house for us because=20 this one floods every winter.”
Juliana said although her earnings were=20 meagre and the Krugers imposed harsh rules=20 on the family, she perservered with them.=20 She said although five of her mother’s=20 seven children had at some stage in their=20 lives worked on the farm, they were not=20 allowed to visit them at the cottage=20 without permission from the Krugers.
The Williams women have searched=20 desperately for alternative work and=20 accommodation. But farmers are reluctant to=20 hire women on a permanent basis, preferring=20 to take on men to whom they allocate=20 housing. The local municipality has told=20 them they could wait up to 10 years for a=20 house in the local townships.
“I am so bitter today. My mother always=20 told us we were part of the Kruger family.=20 I was prepared to do anything for them,=20 housework and fieldwork, but they threw us=20 away when they were finished with us,”=20 Juliana said.
Katrina Williams appears more shocked than=20 bitter. She says she prefers not to think=20 about the impending eviction as it makes=20 her too heartsore.
“I believed in the Krugers. My mother is=20 almost 90-years-old and worked for the=20 Bachelor family in Stellenbosch for many=20 years. They promised her that she could=20 live in her house until she died, even when=20 she stopped working for them. The Bachelors=20 died before she did, but they said in their=20 will that she could remain in her house. I=20 thought I would also have a place to see=20 out my old age,” Williams said.
“Christmas last year was the worst in my=20 life. We couldn’t celebrate knowing we were=20 going to lose our house. We had no food in=20 our house because none of us had work. If=20 it wasn’t for the Women on Farms Project=20 who brought us food to eat, we would have=20 eaten bread on Christmas day.
“When the Krugers left, they took their=20 dogs with them. I’m sure they are very=20 comfortable in their new home. It seems we=20 have fewer rights than the family’s dogs.”
The Williams family’s last hope is Hanekom.=20 They fear the prospect of moving into a=20 squatter camp as a family of eight females.=20 Juliana has already lost one daughter in=20 suspicious circumstances when she=20 disappeared after going into town to shop=20 three years ago.
“We believe in the new South Africa. We=20 believe that things are going to get better=20 for farmworkers and that our struggles in=20 the past will be put behind us as we move=20 into the bright future,” Juliana said.
Lynnette Kruger denied that she had any=20 responsibility for the welfare of the=20 Williams family, saying it was the new=20 owners who were forcing them to leave the=20 farm. She said she did not believe she had=20 abandoned them.
“The matter was taken entirely out of our=20 hands, there is nothing that we can do for=20 them,” Kruger said.
The South African Agricultural Union=20 criticised the Bill, saying it gave the=20 state extraordinary and unacceptable=20 powers.
The Bill will be published in the=20 Government Gazette next month for public=20 comment and the union would try to remove=20 or improve some its provisions, its=20 spokesman Pieter Erasmus said.