Western Cape farm unrest: DA submits PAIA application
Replies to DA parliamentary questions on the involvement of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in last year's Western Cape farm unrest leave even more questions unanswered.
In the latest reply, Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has refused to reveal what was in the R10 million worth of food parcels her Department distributed during the unrest or whether they were actually delivered to the identified parties.
I will today, therefore be submitting a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the Department to determine:
- To which parties, groups and organisations were parcels handed to; and
- What the food parcels contained
Yesterday, the Minister Joemat-Pettersson admitted that her department paid R4.1 million to the Black Association of Wine and Spirits Industry (BAWSI) - the organisation at the forefront of the Western Cape farm unrest, just before the protests broke out.
I will write to the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela to fully investigate this provision of funding and whether or not it was provided to BAWSI to assist them fund the Farm Workers Strikes.
I will also write to the Auditor General, Terrence Nombembe, and request that he investigates whether this provision of funding constituted irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and whether all proper processes were followed in its allocation to an ANC-aligned trade union.
It is essential, in the interests of upholding the rule of law, and the Constitution, that these latest developments are fully investigated and that all further information being withheld by the Department is made available as a matter of urgency.
Statement issued by Annette Steyn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, April 25 2013
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