A former project manager for the KZN Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has been found guilty of stealing land and livestock awarded to labour tenants as part of the government’s land redistribution programme, says a Sunday Tribune report.

It says the Kuick Vlei Settlement case before the Durban Commercial Crimes Court has highlighted the extent to which corrupt officials have easily been able to manipulate the land reform process and defraud government and rightful beneficiaries. The court heard that in working for the department as a project manager in northern KZN, Patrick Masoka devised a simple corrupt scheme where he and his family took over ownership and control of a commercially viable farm, Kuick Vlei, near Ladysmith.

The property had been bought for allocation to a family of labour tenants who lived and worked on it.

In the department’s books, the Shabalala family had become the rightful owners and qualified for government grants and assistance in line with government’s objective to support emerging farmers. Instead Masoka took over the farm. He did this by creating a new trust deed that omitted the Shabalalas as the new owners. He also amended a host of documents that enabled him and his family to move into the main homestead and benefit from agricultural development grants for livestock purchase, farm implements and livestock handling facilities.

He defrauded the state and the Shabalalas of more than R5.3m. The report says it took whistle-blowers and a Carte Blanche exposé for Masoka to be brought to account last week – 10 years after he masterminded the theft, and 22 years after the Shabalala family lodged the original claim.

Full Sunday Tribune report (subscription needed)