Serious accusations against Land Bank: assets worth R14 million auctioned off for R6 million

The DA said that legal representatives appointed on the Land Bank’s behalf liquidated farms without the bank first proving its legal standing to do so.

DA Member of Parliament, Igor Scheurkogel, said they will present these findings, contained in a report, to the Land Bank’s board of directors this week.

The lending agreements at the heart of these cases were signed with agricultural credit intermediaries, not with the Land Bank.

“In case after case, the Land Bank has failed, when challenged in court, to produce the cession agreements on which its right to recover those debts depends,” the DA said.

The issue dates back to 2022, when parliamentary questions in the National Council of Provinces got the National Treasury to disclose the details.

It provided the full schedule of attorneys, liquidators and auctioneers appointed in Land Bank liquidations.

It revealed that a handful of law firms handled the majority of the Land Bank’s cases, appointing themselves as auctioneers of the farms they were liquidating.

These legal service providers could not provide proof that the National Treasury procurement processes were followed in their liquidation and auction processes.

Scheurkogel said that they visited an affected farmer whose debt amounted to less than a third of the value of its assets.

The farming company was nonetheless liquidated, and assets worth R14 million were auctioned off for R6 million.

In another case, a multi-generational farming group with tens of thousands of hectares was dismantled on the strength of ceded claims that were never proven.

An independent report by Adams & Adams was delivered to the Land Bank in February 2024 under the title, “Outrageous Liquidation Practices and Land Bank”.

It recorded allegations of unlawfully procured legal services, misrepresented legal standing, intimidation, victimisation, and abuse directed at farmers.

That report fell on deaf ears. The liquidations continued with over 150 commercial farms lost, and thousands of farm workers and their families stripped of their income.

Secret SIU report on the liquidation industry

In June 2026, the DA raised the secret SIU report on the liquidation industry and the Master’s offices flowing from Proclamation R7 of 2020.

To address the issue, the party submitted a PAIA application to the Presidency to release the report and hold those implicated accountable.

It also submitted formal questions to the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, for full disclosure about the debacle.

It wants to know whether the attorneys, liquidators, and auction houses attached to the Land Bank were appointed in compliance with Treasury procurement prescripts.

“We will be engaging the Minister of Justice to secure an independent investigation into the Master’s offices,” Scheurkogel said.

He highlighted that this engagement will focus on farm liquidations instituted by the Land Bank.

He added that they will ensure that the Land Bank respond timeously to the submitted report and commits to engaging with farmers.

“This should help to end these calculated, ruthless liquidation syndicate attacks on the agriculture sector,” Scheurkogel said.

“Greed cannot be allowed to threaten our food security, stunt economic growth and destroy jobs.”

Freedom Front Plus is also concerned about the Land Bank

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has also accused the Land Bank of engaging in controversial debt-collection practices that are hurting farmers.

The party submitted a formal petition to the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and to the relevant select committees regarding the issue.

This submission was made on behalf of 150 commercial farmers and farming entities facing liquidation and the attachment of assets.

Kobus van den Berg, Freedom Front Plus MP and member of the Select Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Mineral Resources, submitted the petition.

The farmers contend that the Land Bank lacks the legal standing to attach their assets, as there are no direct loan agreements with them.

They added that they did not agree to pass the debt from cooperatives such as Suidwes Landbou, GWK, and Unigro to the bank. This makes it invalid or unenforceable.

“Many farmers are financially ruined by aggressive liquidations, undervalued farm sales, and the bank’s own errors, such as over-lending and delayed processes,” he said.

Van den Berg added that these actions threaten individual farmers and, with them, food security and the rural economy.

“The petition requests an urgent joint investigation, a moratorium on further attachments, and recommendations for improved oversight,” he said.

The full petition has been submitted to the Select Committee on Public Petitions and Executive Undertakings and to the Select Committee on Agriculture.