Pig farmers question municipality's 'sense of humanity'

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - KwaNonqaba pig farmers this week accused the Mossel Bay Municipality of not maintaining a sense of humanity with regards to the movement of pigs to a new site on Tuesday, 31 October.

The pigs were relocated from Erf 1717 in KwaNonqaba, between Mayixhale Street and the N2, to a new site about a kilometre away.

The Public Order Policing Unit, Red Ants Security and municipal law enforcement were on the scene.

This relocation took place following a court order issued in 2020, when the Cape High Court ordered compliance with the Nuisance Ordinance.

Mossel Bay Municipality said in a statement that since the issuance of the court order, the municipality had been involved in consultation with all the role players on a continuous basis.

“This includes consultation with the pig farmers, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development.”

However, a spokesperson for the KwaNonqaba pig farmers told the Mossel Bay Advertiser on Wednesday that they were not informed of the date or time the move would take place.

'They gave us their word'

“Our last meeting with the municipality was about two weeks ago and we were told they would tell us the exact date. They gave us their word.”

He said the sad part of it all was that because of a lack of communication, some of the 65 pig farmers were at work or elsewhere when the Red Ants started to demolish their pigpens. They were then set alight.

“Some of us had material at the pigpens that we wanted to take. But by the time we got there the pigpens were already demolished and set alight. It felt like a klopjag and took us back to days we don’t want to remember. The municipality showed no respect to us as people. We thought that through the months of correspondence with them, we had built a relationship. There was trust.”

The municipality claimed in a statement that an open and transparent process was followed. "In addition, formal notices were placed on 3 April 2023 and 13 October 2023 on the premises informing all occupants of the property of the relocation: 'In compliance with the court order all occupiers, inclusive of all belongings, structures and animals will be relocated to Erf 7026, Mossel Bay, after 14 (fourteen) days of serving of the notice and that by co-operating with the relocation, further legal action will be prevented.'"

The farmers' spokesperson said the farmers found it ironic they had been moved on to the complainant’s land. He alleged that the municipality swapped their Erf 1717 with the erf of the complainant.

'Closer to the community'

He said: “We question the intention of the complainant because we are now even closer to the community.” Initial complaints about the pigs on Erf 1717 included that there was, among others, a bad odour.

The municipality notes that in terms of a council resolution, three portions of Erf 1717 were exchanged for Erf 7026, KwaNonqaba. "It is envisaged that Erf 7026 also be made available for institutional and cultural activities after transfer of the land to the municipality and that the relocation and formalisation of the pig farmers may also contribute to local economic development as the opportunity may be created for the pig farmers to sell their produce to the local community."

The Advertiser asked the municipality what the reason was for having Red Ants Security and the Public Order Policing Unit at the scene on Tuesday. "To ensure that the court order was executed in an orderly manner," the municipality responded.

The farmers' spokesperson said the farmers had no issue with moving to the new location.