PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki and other top African National Congress leaders touring Mpumalanga are appalled at the violent and “slave-like” treatment of farm labourers in the region, ANC spokesman Smut Ngonyama said on Monday. The ANC national working committee will, Ngonyama told journalists in Nelspruit, urgently debate possible solutions to the abuse and will request its provincial counter-parts to view the issue as a priority. Ngonyama confirmed Mbeki and ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma toured hotspots in the Ermelo and Piet Retief areas on Sunday were racist commandos are reported to still terrorise and murder farm labourers. Ngonyama said victims told Mbeki on Sunday now they were deprived of burial rights, had no security of tenure and were prevented access to basic services such as clinics and schools.