Land Bank has failed to respond within the statutory 30-day period to a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request seeking its bank statements and related financial records from 2012 to date.
The purpose of the request is straightforward: to establish how much money generated through the liquidation and forced sale of farmers’ assets was actually deposited into Land Bank’s accounts.
We have received no decision, no notice of an extension and no substantive correspondence from Land Bank. Its failure to respond constitutes a deemed refusal under PAIA. We will therefore lodge a formal complaint with the Information Regulator and issue a further formal demand to Land Bank’s Board and Information Officer.
Land Bank’s Board Chairperson undertook on 30 July 2026 to respond to our written concerns regarding its liquidation practices, but no substantive answers have followed. Land Bank also received the NCOP resolution calling for the release of the 2024 Adams & Adams report into its liquidation practices and greater disclosure of the attorneys, liquidators and auctioneers involved.
The central question is simple: How much money has Land Bank recovered from these liquidations since 2012, and where did the rest of the money go? If these liquidation processes were lawful, properly procured and accurately accounted for, Land Bank should have no difficulty producing the records, subject only to legally justified redactions. Its continued silence does not resolve the serious concerns surrounding these liquidations it deepens them.
Farmers have lost land, businesses, jobs and generational assets through these processes. They and the South African public are entitled to know who was paid, how much was recovered and how much money actually reached Land Bank.
This is not about shielding borrowers from legitimate debt obligations. It is about protecting the rule of law, public money and vulnerable farmers from an opaque liquidation system.
A related PAIA request submitted to National Treasury has also passed the 30-day period without a substantive response. The DA has submitted a formal complaint to the Information Regulator against Land Bank for not meet the regulated 30-day period to respond or request a 30-day extension. This complaint is not done in isolation because various famers have submitted similar PAIA applications with no respond from
Land Bank must open its books and show South Africa where the liquidation money went.