Zokwana’s lack of urgency on drought reaches crisis levels
24 January 2016
Minister Zokwana and his ministerial panel’s recent press briefing on the status of the drought was evidence of his lack of understanding of the impact the drought has South Africans. What was on display was a lack of understanding, intellectualisation as well as dwarf leadership to deal with the crisis brought on by the drought in the respective provinces.
The DA once again urges the government to show strong leadership: to declare a national disaster and to immediately establish an ad hoc committee in Parliament.
We also believe that Minister Senzeni Zokwana should investigate allegations in the North West that traditional leaders are receiving cows meant to alleviate the suffering of communal farmers. Not doing so protects those who already have, and does nothing for ordinary South Africans.
The recent press release by Free State Agriculture (FSA) indicates that livestock farmers in the Free State will need up to R2.984 billion in feed to keep their animals alive until the grazing has recovered.
In addition to this, a survey done by the FSA, with 600 farmers as respondents, indicated that 66% will need financial aid in 2016. Only 6 out of the 600 have received any kind of government assistance. About 11 500 people are dependent on these 600 farmers for jobs.
Free State’s MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Zoleka Capa indicated that R39 million had been set aside for drought relief from its Equitable Share and CASP budget, and is to be allocated for feed, medicine and water. This clearly falls short of the estimated R2.984 billion Free State farmers that participated in the survey need for feed alone.
Further evidence of the governments lack of understanding and clear carelessness is when KZN MEC for Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development, Bonginkosi Radebe stated that he had nothing more to say about the situation in his province that was different to what his colleagues in other provinces already said. This is appalling and shows that the MEC has not bothered to comment on the impact of the drought in his province.
Limpopo Agriculture MEC Jacob Marule said that 51 560 livestock had been affected in his province, with 2020 that had died already. The national livestock mortality figures, it emerged, hovers at a minimum of 5000 dead already. The Democratic Alliance questions these figures as media reports of approximately 30 000 cattle that died in KZN alone. His colleague in the North West, Desbo Sefanyetso Mohono, whose province has been experiencing a drought since 2013 and had been declared a disaster are twice, did not even bother to attend the conference. It is questionable, though, the value he would have brought.
It is a crying shame that civil society still takes the lead in relief efforts. Whatever assistance government has rendered so far has been inadequate and inappreciable. The lack of tankers and truck loads of feed shows that government has little understanding and no concern for the poor subsistence farmers who are impacted the most by the drought, and for South Africans who will increasingly find it difficult to feed their families.
The Minister still refuses to declare the drought a national disaster, claiming that "these things are a matter of science" and the time is not yet right. Food prices are already souring, and thousands of jobs and livelihoods are at stake. It is clear that government officials for whom financial insecurity is rarely a looming threat, the increasing price of food and other necessities will never be of priority – so citizens of South Africa will have to bide their time for inevitably.
Statement issued by Annette Steyn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, 24 January 2016
