It has been estimated that as much as 1 000ha of farmland near the town of Alma in Limpopo have been destroyed after allegedly being set alight during a community protest this week.
According to head of community safety at Afriforum, Ian Cameron, residents of the township outside Alma, near Vaalharts in Limpopo, were protesting about the collapse of a cell phone tower serving the area.
“The tower fell over and that meant there was no cell phone communication available,” he said.
It was further believed that demands that a local councillor be removed from his position also contributed to the protest action.
Cameron said the fires were allegedly started on smaller farms on the outskirts of the town on Tuesday.
“About six farms were burnt [down] and we estimate the affected area to be between 600ha and 1 000ha,” he said.
Cameron said the area was known as a game farming region, but the fires had affected irrigation farm
Continue reading…
