Citrus-farm jewel reaps harvest of neglect

Malema’s lawyer is at the centre of a row over a prized agricultural estate that has fallen on hard times

A citrus estate that was once the biggest in the southern hemisphere is on the brink of liquidation 14 years after a land claim returned it to its ancestral owners.

In 1978, the Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa boasted that Zebediela, near Polokwane, grew one orange for every eight people in the world.

Today it is in business rescue, workers have been paid late, trees are not being irrigated or sprayed, it owes millions to Eskom and it is under investigation by the Hawks.

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Much of the blame is being laid at the door of prominent Limpopo lawyer Tumi Mokwena, who introduced himself to workers as MD of the farm 10 months ago, and has been accused of siphoning off millions.

Mokwena represented EFF leader Julius Malema during his tax trial and his most recent case, brought by AfriForum.

Now fruit distributer FruitCo has asked the High Court in Polokwane for an interdict barring Zebediela from selling its 2016 crop to anyone else and compelling the farm to look after its crops.

Zebediela grows hundreds of thousand of tons of citrus fruit for international markets.

In an affidavit, FruitCo CEO Evgueni Zakharov said it had underwritten the farm's costs for last year because it did "not have the financial means to pay its creditors or carry the operational farming costs. [FruitCo] is greatly concerned about the finances of [Zebediela], which have been mismanaged by [its] directors."

Zakharov said FruitCo had met two salary bills to prevent a repeat of a strike in which staff "refused to work, switched off the water supply to the irrigation systems and set fire to a portion of the orchards".

Michael Masetloa, chairman of the Bjatladi Communal Property Association, which owns Zebediela, had also refused to respond to concerns about trees not being irrigated and trucks being loaded at the farm, he said.

In court papers, FruitCo said it had paid Mokwena R67-million upfront to secure the 2016 crop. He also received R4.5-million in legal fees and R10.5-million from the estate's previous managers.

The farm is controlled by the Bjatladi community, which received the title deeds in 2003.

Mokwena was appointed as the community's lawyer when Zebediela severed ties with former "strategic partners".

He signed the farm's latest crop sale agreement with FruitCo on March 1 last year, even though the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission lists his registration as a director only in April.

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On September 9 last year, Mokwena registered a company called Zebediela Estate Citrus Exports, which has the same address as his law firm in Grobler Street, Polokwane. He is the only director listed.

Members of the Bjatladi CPA are at loggerheads over Mokwena. Ike Kekana, the son of a 92-year-old beneficiary, has written to Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha calling for an investigation of Mokwena.

"Tumi Mokwena and Floyd Legodi [another Polokwane attorney who has represented Malema] occupied the farm from as early as December 2015," he said.

"Mokwena introduced himself to the workers on March 23 2016 ... as managing director. Legodi was being referred to as company secretary.

"Michael Masetloa, who is working closely with Mokwena, also calls himself a director."

Lesiba Sakong, a member of the Bjatladi CPA, told the Sunday Times Masetloa and other members appointed Mokwena "fraudulently without the knowledge of all the members of the community".

Masetloa was being paid two R60,000 salaries - by the Bjatladi CPA and Zebediela Citrus.

"Things are getting worse now because the farm has been captured. Actually it has collapsed," said Sakong.

Under last February's agreement, Zebediela was to deliver 512,000 cartons of oranges and 220,000 cartons of lemons to FruitCo, but failed to complete the order.

FruitCo MD Paul Huish said: "We spent a lot of money ... but unfortunately we didn't get all of our fruit.

"Definitely there were some big problems, and hopefully a solution will be found. The police ... have said they're looking into the whole matter.

"Zebediela is one of the oldest and biggest citrus farms in South Africa. We are very sad to see it go the way of other land reform."

Frank Cohen, the lawyer who represents the business rescuer, Harry Kaplan, said: "It's dysfunctional, not operating. We're not going to be able to sell our crop to the European market this year because they haven't followed the protocols of spraying. There's no irrigation taking place."

In 2015 Zebediela's revenues were about R110-million, but the company had sold last year's crop for R67-million, he said.

"In terms of the agreement, there are allegations from directors that Tumi [Mokwena] never had the authority to conduct that deal and it falls foul of the Companies Act [which requires shareholder agreement]," said Cohen.

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Limpopo provincial government spokesman Phuti Seloba said what was happening at Zebediela was an indictment of the land redistribution process.

"But there have been some moves to seek ways of intervening. The provincial government is aware and we, through our legal people, are looking at ways to assist," he said.

The Hawks' spokesman in Limpopo, Matimba Maluleke, confirmed that an investigation had been launched.

Mokwena refused to answer questions about his directorship and why R67-million had been paid into his trust account.

"That is the agreement that was signed," he said.

"Call the proper representatives of the community and ask them that question and they should be able to give you an answer. You know the CPA, right? Speak to them."

Masetloa could not be reached on his cellphone, after initially answering before hanging up. He responded later with an SMS saying: "Your allegations are incorrect and deserve no comment from us."

sub_head_start Returned to ancestral owners sub_head_end

Zebediela Citrus Estate in Limpopo once produced about 10% of South Africa's oranges.

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The 13 785ha farm was worth an estimated R61.4-million when the Bjatladi community received the title deeds in 2003, after which 331 households returned to their ancestral land.

The Zebediela land claim was lodged in response to the government's land restitution programme after the loss of land rights in 1914.

At the time of the claim, an agreement was reached between the communities and the farmers for a 15-year lease agreement with an annual rental payment of R1-million to the Bjatladi Communal Property Association. The farm was managed by Henley Farm Properties until last year.

According to archived records on the citrus industry of Southern Africa from 1957, Zebediela planted about a half a million trees and was said to be the largest "citrus grove" in the world.

The first plantings were made in 1918 and continued for 11 years.

ndenzeb@timesmedia.co.za