The community and the land claim
The Moletele community comprises five groups consisting of around 1 615 families.
Community: Moletele Communal Property Association
Beneficiaries: 1 600+ households
Partners: Matuma Farms (Pty) Ltd
Province: Limpopo
30+ jobs created
150+ Hectares land put to productive use
R10-million investment mobilised
The natural boundaries of the community’s land are Klaserie River in the east, Kruger National Park in the north, Drakensburg Mountains in the south and the Olifants River in the west.
The Moletele Land Claim was gazetted in 2004, and the first batch of farms on their land were bought and transferred to the community in July 2007 by the Regional Land Claims Commission, Limpopo office. During this time, the Moletele Communal Property Association was registered.
Since restoration, the Moletele Communal Property Association has entered into a number of commercial partnerships to manage and operate the farms on their land. Like the Hoedspruit area more generally, the land on the community’s farms benefit from good soil, water and climatic conditions for mango and citrus production.
Vumelana’s involvement
The partnership agreement
In 2012 the Moletele Communal Property Association asked Vumelana for support to find a commercial partner to develop a cluster of fruit farms covering 151 hectares. Vumelana appointed a team (Lima Rural Development Foundation, DB Consulting, Webber Wentzel Attorneys) to facilitate an investor mobilisation and deal structuring process.
Four potential investment partners were identified who were already active in fruit farming and keen to expand their operations. After running a competitive bidding process which set out the desired benefits for the Moletele community, the Moletele Communal Property Association entered into an agreement with a private farming company, Matuma Farms (Pty) Ltd.
Potential Impact
The lease-based partnership agreement was based on planting 150+ hectares of new orchards, repairs to the bulk water supply, the replacement of irrigation infrastructure and a fixed investment of just over R10m. The Moletele Communal Property Association will receive the larger of a minimum annual lease fee and a 5% of the gross revenue. The community also has an option to buy up to 49% of the equity in the business, at market value, which they can exercise after the seventh year of the lease.
Additional potential benefits for the Moletele Communal Property Association aside from this base income, includes preferential employment opportunities (a minimum of 31 jobs will be created) and skills development opportunities.
To learn more about how the Moletele–Matuma Farms Agriculture Partnership has impacted on the Moletele Communal Property Association, watch this video.
Other Support
Read a summary of the Business Performance Review support provided to the Moletele Communal Property Association under Vumelana’s Community Property Institution Support Programme.