DA calls for probe into troubled Ncera Macadamia Farming Project

The DA has called for an investigation of the struggling Ncera Macadamia Farming Project outside East London.

The project, launched in 2006 with a R70m government funding, has seen its workforce shrink from 150 to just 73.

Vandalism has left the facility in ruins and morale is at an all-time low.

The project’s failure has sparked concerns about its management and oversight.

The DA said a thorough investigation was necessary to determine the causes of the project’s failure.

DA MPL Heinrich Müller slammed the project’s performance.

“Despite its noble intentions, the project has been undermined by prolonged drought, volatile market prices, unpaid employee wages, internal disputes, job losses and, most critically, a lack of effective oversight from the Eastern Cape department of agriculture,” Müller said on Monday.

The DA has written to rural development and agrarian reform MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe demanding the matter be placed on the agenda for the next portfolio committee meeting.

“The department must present a clear plan regarding the project revival efforts,” Müller said.

“Before any further financial commitments are made, the project's viability and the community’s needs must be rigorously assessed.”

In February, department spokesperson Athule Joka told GroundUp that the department was working with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation and the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency “to develop a credible recovery plan and appropriate funding mechanism which would allow both public and private sector investment”.

Daily Dispatch