Home | News | MALKERNS FARM OWNERS AGAINST NEW BOUNDARIES

MALKERNS FARM OWNERS AGAINST NEW BOUNDARIES

08/02/2020 23:04:00 BY MBONGENI NDLELA

Font size:

mbongeni@times.co.sz
MBABANE – Objection! About 90 farm owners are vigorously objecting government’s revived intentions to expand the Malkerns town boundaries.
Through the Malkerns Property Owners Association (MPOA), the property owners have raised several concerns why they don’t want to be part of the proposed urbanisation process intended by government, which might result in them having to pay rates.

Last month, government, through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, issued a general notice no.4/2020 stating its intention to incorporate 90 farms into becoming part of the fast growing Malkerns town.
The targeted farms, according to the new mapping, are situated in the edges of Malkerns and they include the Malandela farmhouse which houses House on Fire.

Following the issuance of the notice, the property owners have robustly opposed the urbanisation of their land.
The Times SUNDAY has gathered that they have communicated their objection act through letters sent to the minister of Agriculture and the principal secretary in the ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Clifford Mamba.

According to documents seen by this publication, the farm owners are represented by an adhoc committee. They have argued that should their properties be incorporated into the town’s boundaries, potential agricultural land would be lost to urbanisation.

They have disclosed that, collectively, they produce 100 000 tonnes of sugar cane, 7 480 000 broiler chickens per annum and pineapple to keep Swazican sustainable. Swazican is also part of Malkerns.

“There are also three dairy farms within the intended expansion of the town boundaries. The egg producers collectively place 615 000 laying hens,” reads a letter they addressed to minister of agriculture Jabulani Mabuza.

They further argued that also included in the proposed new town are three nurseries that are producing vegetables seedling, trees and garden plants.
“More recently the commercial farmers have started to plant macadamia trees with 30 000 trees planted to date and more to follow,” they stated.
“Our concerns are also that should we be incorporated into the town we would be subject to urban by-laws and rates making our operations less profitable and unable to remain competitive,” argued the farm owners.

In their letter directed to the ministry of housing, the property owners have argued that government has failed to provide any reason why she intends to alter or expand boundaries of Malkerns Town Board.
They have stated that Section 2(a) of the Urban Government Act of 1969, states that Minister Prince Simelane is mandated by law to provide reasons for his intended notice.

“Clearly, there are no reasons put forth and therefore, our members have difficulty in making submissions without knowledge of the reasons behind the alteration/ extension of Malkerns Town Board boundaries,” they said.
Country to lose - owners
Arguing further, the farm owners stated that the properties targeted by government for incorporation are prime and large agricultural farms.
They stated that Eswatini as a whole might lose prime agricultural land.

Pushing their objection reasons, they have also reminded government that in a report of the Commission of Enquiry that was set in 1995, it was recommended that “only these parts of the area intended for incorporation that display strong urban characteristics now, are intensively settled and those for which sound proposals for urban development are in place, be included in the Notice of Declaration of the Town of Malkerns,”

They have stated that the then commission recommended that “development planning for the new urban area take into account the land currently being used for agricultural purposes to ensure that this productive land is retained for such until urban expansion requirements warrant otherwise”
They continued; “the committee further decries that the minister, with full knowledge of the properties to be affected and their owners, fails to do a simple and basic consultation with them with a view to get their concerns and submission before any notice is issued.”

On another note, the land owners have argued that government went to an extent of publishing their properties in the newspapers without their knowledge and invited the general public to make submissions.

‘Farms already developed’

According to the notice published in January 6, 2020, members of the public were invited by the ministry of housing to “make submissions or objections on the extension of Malkerns Town boundaries to incorporate certain properties into the town, may do so within 30 days of the first publication of this notice”
Meanwhile, Robert Mabila, one of the farm owners, confirmed that they have submitted objection letters to two government ministries.

“We don’t understand why our farm should be incorporated into the town because these farms are already developed. We have independently worked hard in developing these lands and now government wants to take them away from us,” he said.
He said he has spent over 56 years in the farm and has employed so many people.

act gives ministry powers
Lungelo Nkambule, Communications Officer in the ministry of housing, said minister Simelane was acting within his powers when listing these farms to be part of the town boundaries.

“The Minister of Housing and Urban Development has the authority as per the Urban Government Act, 1969 section 4 (1) to declare any area to be a municipality and to define and alter boundaries of any municipality. As far as the incorporation of these properties is concerned, the minister is acting within his powers,” Nkambule said when responding to a questionnaire from this publication on Friday.

When asked why the property owners were not consulted prior to the publication of the notice, Nkambule said the notice represented the beginning of the consultation process which serves as an invitation to the property owners to engage government.
Asked about the court ruling which was issued against government in favour of the property owners, Nkambule said; “the ministry respects and upholds judgments of the court.”