During the course of last week a very disturbing report about a farmer in De Doorns who allegedly bulldozed the houses of farm workers, appeared on television.

I decided to visit De Doorns on Monday in order to establish all the relevant facts regarding this matter. I spoke to various role-players which included the landowner, an official from the Department of Land Affairs, Coucillor Freddie Speelman and the executive of the Hex Valley Table Grape Association.

During my visit I also inspected the alleged demolished houses. All the relevant parties agreed that the report on television news last week was one sided and contained a lot of unsubstantiated allegations with regard to the incident.

This unfortunate type of biased reporting is detrimental to the building of sound relations within the Agricultural sector. It is evident that there is a willingness amongst most of the role-players to find a workable solution in order to enable the farmer, Mr de Villiers to proceed with the planned grading of 80 housing units to the benefit of the occupants as well as the broader community of De Doorns.

Enquiries:
Alie Van Jaarsveld
082 777 7262