Ann Eveleth
The Hartebeespoort local council agreed this week to consider an innovative land reform plan hatched by local farmers, but Broederstroom smallholder Roger Roman vowed to continue his hunger strike “until the process becomes unstoppable”.
Roman launched his hunger strike on November 25 in a bid to force the conservative local council to kick- start low-cost housing for the area’s 50 000 black residents.
Roman is putting his entire 13ha farm into a trust through which he will share land rights equally with the former labour tenants who have occupied the land under a series of owners.
He says the meeting was a step in the right direction, but he will not end his strike until more progress is made.
ENDS