Deputy President Paul Mashatile partners with KwaSizabantu Mission to boost farming projects

Deputy president Paul Mashatile has committed the government to partnering with KwaSizabathu Mission to unlock more farming projects in the farm owned by the church.

The church in Greytown in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal was founded by the late Reverend Erlo Stegen, who died in 2023.

The deputy president visited the church and worshipped with its congregants as part of a series of ANC leaders’ visits to churches during the Easter weekend. 

Speaking to the media after a sermon on Sunday, Mashatile said after he was invited to worship in the province he felt he should come to the church after he heard about the community projects that have helped the community around the area.

He said he was impressed by the work that the church is doing to communities. He then announced that the government will partner with the church to expand the work it is already doing, particularly farming which is feeding a lot of families. He commended the church and its late founder for turning what was once a bush, into arable land.

“Besides coming to worship with the congregants here I am particularly pleased to see the good work the church has done and continues to do which is feeding many people around here. As deputy president of the country, one of my tasks is to work with churches to support them in uplifting poor communities so we will partner with the church to expand the farming projects the church had already started,” said Mashatile.

The church was established in 1970 by a missioner Erlo Stegen who named it KwaSizabantu (a place to help people). He soon founded Emseni Farming, an agricultural entity that supplies fruits and vegetables to supermarkets across the province. The church also owns the Aquelle sparkling water plant, which supplies bottled water and drinks to various retailers.

The church currently employs close to 1,000 workers, some of whom live on the church property.

Besides accolades, the church is still under the spotlight of the Commission for the Promotion of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities for allegations of abuse against its congregants. The allegations that emerged a few years back were investigated by the commission, however, the church leaders were cleared after the investigation found there was nothing unlawful in the church's practices. The victims are currently challenging the findings.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za